photopro2

We did a back-to-back through Buenos Aires last March and were there for three days with two overnights on the ship.

While it is certainly physically possible to walk from the cruise terminal into town we certainly WOULD NOT recommend it! 

As @Heidi13 says, the ship is docked in a busy commercial port and you will always need to get a shuttle bus from the ship to the cruise terminal whatever transport you plan to take from there.

Immediately outside the cruise terminal are commercial premises, busy roads and quite a number of military facilities. It is not the sort of area anyone would wander through unless they had a very good reason. Most Viking passengers would stand out like a sore thumb and make themselves potential targets for undesirables.

Viking offers an excellent free shuttle which is much quicker and safer than walking. It operates from 9 am to 9 pm on the day passengers are overnighting on the ship. If I recall correctly, it operated every 30 minutes except for a bit of a gap in the middle of the day when drivers took lunch. The bus drops off in the pleasant Plaza San Martin, close to the top of the bustling Florida Street. It is an easy and safe walk from there to the other main city centre tourist sites.

A few hundred yards down Florida Street is the up market Galerías Pacífico shopping mall, which provides nice, free toilet facilities as required!

The first day we walked from the shuttle stop to Casa Roseada, the palace with the Eva Peron balcony. On our second day, we walked from the shuttle stop to Recoleta cemetery. On our final morning, we walked from the shuttle stop to the regenerated Old Port area with its newly built high-rise apartments, shops and restaurants.

Buenos Aires is a lovely city. We also covered a lot of other ground by foot over those three days (30,000 + steps a day) and we never felt unsafe at any point, though we obviously took the usual care. But to walk from the cruise terminal into town?…… absolutely no way!

My own opinion is that Torston will not be angry or even surprised by the announcement. It seems common for environmental “deadlines” like this one in Norway, to be aspirational rather than absolute.

He may even be amongst those who welcome the decision as it is quite possible that the Vela will not actually be capable of using hydrogen proportion when she goes into service. She and her future sisterships have certainly been designed with the idea of limited hydrogen proportion in mind, but that does not necessarily mean that the technology is considered sufficiently advanced for it to be put to use right away.

I’m pleased that Viking are investing in this technology, not only because it is a requirement that will be imposed upon them if they want to visit environmentally sensitive areas from some point in the future, but (much more importantly) because it is the right thing to do for the planet. I have high hopes that the company’s CEO might feel the same! 

On 8/20/2024 at 10:51 PM, AZ_Tim said:

It looks like the Vela does not have the "duck tail" at the stern like the other Viking ships.

Good spot @AZ_Tim

That makes me wonder if the published length of the existing ships (745 feet) includes that ducktail platform. Assuming that it does it would make the superstructure on the current ships about 730 feet, with around 15 feet of ducktail.

We know that the new ships are 784 feet in length but if, as it appears, the superstructure now runs all the way back that would give an extra 15 feet internal space front to rear over the 54 feet of additional length we were expecting.

If that is right, dropping the ducktail design alone makes room for two additional cabins on each passenger deck, as well as adding space to the pubic areas.

Not world shattering news I know, but the sort of thing that I do find interesting 😁   

There is an interesting video on YouTube showing the Vela on sea trials.

At first glance, it looks very much like the existing ships but I have noticed some interesting differences.

As expected, the front part of the ship seems to be virtually identical, but there are changes from the funnel backwards. The most obvious (and predictable given the extra length) is the increased distance between the funnel and the satellite domes. Not quite so obvious are the cutout corners on aft section of the deck eight promenade. These mirror the cutouts on deck seven and this is different to the current ships. The most intriguing to me is that the section of windows on deck 8 (which currently give a view down into The Aquavit Bar) look to be significantly narrower, even though we know the ship is wider overall. Finally, it seems that the infinity pool is better blended into the line of the aft profile with less of a cantilever.

Anyone else like to play spot the difference? 😁 

I'm sure it will be available, zero alcohol beer has been my usual lunchtime drink on a number of Viking ocean cruises. My recollection is that it has been Heineken zero but it certainly possible that the brand might vary from itinerary to itinerary.

15 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

Everything I have read and continue to read about the EES is that it is set to launch this year in October.

You are certainly right about the rumors which suggest Sunday 6th October. I am just surprised that nothing has yet been announced on the official EU website.

See https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/smart-borders/entry-exit-system_en

I also agree with you that EES will be much more disruptive to travel. ETIAS is something you can deal with at home before you leave. EES will impact people while on a trip because of the additional requirement to gather biometric data at the first entry point into the EU.

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

However EES is being implemented too and that to my knowledge is being implemented starting October this year.

Correct, though I don't think a start date has officially been announced. All indications have been that it will be sometime after the Paris Olympics.

In fact Viking trialed this when we arrived in Barcelona after the Southern Atlantic crossing in spring. We all had to "report" in person with our passports to a police officer on the afternoon we docked. It was a bit of a farce as we had already arrived in the EU at Málaga and most people had even been into Barcelona that morning.

None the less we all had to show up in the cruise terminal for a face to face with the official. No fingerprints or photos were taken but I am sure it was an early shakedown test for Viking TA arrivals next year.

7 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

My husband has never snorkeled before - is this fit for a beginner?

If you click on the "learn more button" you will find that it does say it is for both experts and beginners, so he should be fine.

We took that excursion and really enjoyed it even though we didn't snorkel at all! My eyesight is very poor and if I take off my glasses to put on a swim mask, I really can't see enough for it to be worthwhile. We really enjoyed our time on the catamaran nonetheless, and took the option mentioned in the excursion listing to just swim. When we stopped in a couple of places for people to snorkel, we very much enjoyed getting off the back of the boat and using those long thin flotation tubes (noodles?) In the lovely warm water.

Another excursion that we have done in St Martin is the America's cup race which was brilliant - not for everyone, but we count it as one of our favourite excursions ever ⛵ ⛵

More generally, we found that the included excursions that we took on the West Indies Explorer were mostly so so. An exception was Tortola, where a nice (if brief) visit to a beach club on Cane Garden Bay was a fun part of the tour. We also thought that the included excursion on Antigua which went to Nelsons dockyard with somewhat better than average. On the other hand the "Scenic Island Tour & Mountain Top" on St Thomas was really just a trip to a tourist trap shopping mall and (ironically, given its name) was the low point of an otherwise enjoyable cruise.

Hope that helps  

👍🙂 Nice work @CCWineLover

I wonder if it might be worth also posting the links in the pinned "comparison of cabins" thread at the top of the page?

6 hours ago, Ready to Sail! said:

We have Jupiter and Mars coming up but looking at Sea for Panama Canal.

As well as the lack of that set of draws on Sea, a bigger difference to my mind is that the first 3 ships do not have the crew-operated, opening side windows in the main pool area. We have found that these are helpful as they allow more ventilation in that area and can sometimes avoid it becoming overly hot.

This is not so relevant for the Panama Canal perhaps, as side windows on newer ships would most likely be kept closed anyway, because of potential issues with bugs.

Thanks to all for your responses. It's good to know that it's not just me that has issues with the current format! Here are just a few of the comments which really struck home with me.

On 5/15/2024 at 6:07 PM, JollyJacqTar said:

doing a survey seems like one more chore distracting you from enjoying the final day or two of your holiday

I completely agree with you, filling in the forms is a real chore which impinges on the time that we should be spending enjoying the trip.

On 5/16/2024 at 10:30 AM, CDNPolar said:

I personally would also like a place that I can NAME people that clearly went above and beyond in my eyes.  

Yes, we are frequently encouraged to name outstanding crew members but there is nowhere specifically provided to do that on the evaluation forms.

On 5/19/2024 at 12:46 AM, Messybill said:

it would be much much better if Viking sent us an online survey about a week after the end of the cruise, which would give us time to coalesce our thoughts and would not be a waste of paper.

I think this would be a far better way of doing things. Presumably it also would allow Viking to automate the data gathering process and make it more efficient as well as saving paper. As @CDNPolar pointed out, it could also be tailored to the level of previous experience that a particular passenger already had with Viking, which would completely solve my original issue.

On 4/4/2024 at 1:03 AM, CCWineLover said:

There are some differences between the ships you mention Sea and Orion.

One significant difference I would point out is that the first three ships, including The Sea, do not have slide-down windows in the main pool deck area. Sliding windows on the later ships add more flexible ventilation options in addition to opening the roof. We find that the main pool decks on later ships are less likely to get too hot as a result.

There has been some really interesting discussion on another thread about evaluation forms, as a result of thread drift. So interesting, in fact, I felt that it deserved a thread of its own.

I can appreciate the usefulness of these forms and so try to answer them as honestly as I can. 

My own difficulty is the way they generally ask how well the various aspects of the cruise relate to my expectations. For instance, if they were below my expectations, met my expectations or exceeded them.

On our first Viking cruise I genuinely and honestly rated most of the categories as exceeding or far exceeding my expectations. The problem has come with subsequent cruises, where I am again being asked to rate my experience in the context of my expectations. Over time my expectations have become very high, based on my previous good experiences.

The result is that even if I think that a particular aspect of the cruise has been excellent, I feel I can now only honestly rate it in the middle of the range on the evaluation form by saying that it “met my [very high] expectations” By the same token, even a small issue could easily put an aspect into the “below expectations” categories.

I would be interested to know if others have felt the need to adjust their responses on the evaluation forms purely because their level of expectation has changed. 

Though I can confirm they are included, availability is a slightly different matter! 

As you say, non alcoholic beer is readily available. Non alcoholic wine was not always "to hand" however waiters usually found some of the sparkling type. On one occasion the bartender in the Aquavit bar made me up a special alcohol-free cocktail as an apology for not having the wine.

Simple answer too 😁 yes those non alcoholic drinks are included. The non alcoholic lager, Heineken 0 I think, became our standard drink at lunchtime. We also tried ice tea for the first time, which we enjoyed. It is available in sweetened and non sweetened versions.

Sitting here in the Explorer’s lounge on the Jupiter, it is fantastic to think how different the world was when I started this thread, exactly four years ago today. Back then normal social interaction was impossible and we were not allowed to travel outside our local area. 
Thankfully, those strange times have now come and gone.

The captain has just made his noon time announcement to inform us that we are now 104 nautical miles off the coast of Brazil. It is 93 degrees outside but still cool in here despite the brightness of the sun that streams in across the cream leather chairs that face out towards the gleaming white bow.

It is wonderful to be travelling, but even more significant is that we once again feel comfortable chatting face to face with our fellow passengers, here in the lounge and around the ship. New friendships are being formed as before.

 

I am thrilled to see the number of posts that have been made to the thread over these four years. Hopefully this will continue to be a virtual home for all sorts of chat, even now that the lovely lounges are again fully operational in the beautiful and amazing real wide world.

 

 

he amazingly beautiful real wide world.

4 hours ago, millybess said:

I'm re-reading your post and it would be great if they had a resident astronomer on board, even without the planetarium.  Especially for TAs and other voyages where there are a lot of sea days.  

We are currently on the Viking Jupiter for a TA and there is a resident astronomer on board who will give presentations about the night sky from the top deck (weather permitting) as well as using the planetarium for talks on "The sky above us". We also have the IMAX style shows mentioned previously.

10 hours ago, Azulann said:

 I wish Cruise Critic would just take down their "meet and mingle" link on their home page. If they are not  going to be partners in this as before the  pandemic, then say so ,please!

Viking  is more that happy to  respond to  our roll calls if one poster takes the initiative to  let Guest relations  know with names and staterooms # once on board. 

I really do agree with you and I am sorry to hear what @millybess has reported.

My suspicion is that there must be more to this story than a simple flat refusal from Viking. Even if that were to be the case, it was obviously a one off negative decision by the management on that particular ship.

There is certainly no general policy from Viking as a company to prevent M&Ms We have official Viking hosted M&Ms set up for both sectors of our upcoming BtoB.

Maybe our moderator would be kind enough to pass on a message to Cruise Critic management and have them enquire with Viking if the previous M&M system can be restored?

I look forward to hearing the response.

This photograph made me smile when I spotted it on the Viking Jupiter Panamax camera yesterday, so I thought it was worth sharing. Maybe there is a keen ornithologist on the board that can tell us what bird this is?

9 hours ago, bouy said:

still planning on going and having a great time

That is the right attitude to take and I'm very sure that you will have a brilliant time.

We have had glitches and complaints about the pre cruise experience in the past, but once we step onboard, all that melts away. It is on the lovely Viking ships that we "Feel the love from Viking" 😊

We find that the outstanding environment and service for the duration of the cruise more than outweighs any dissatisfaction we may have had with the onshore management and systems. 

Hello @Curx94

I have enjoyed reading your well balanced, and erudite posts. Despite your carefully phrased and clear comments it seems to me that most people have missed the key point: That the advice you are giving about not booking too early is in relation to the Expedition cruises rather than Viking as a whole.

We took a moderately priced positioning cruise on an Expedition ship and enjoyed it very much, but feel that most of the regular Expedition cruises are at a price level per day that is beyond what we are prepared to pay. If others in Viking's target market feel the same as we do, that would chime with what you have experienced. It appears that Viking may be having to reduce Expedition prices in order to fill what would otherwise be empty cabins as the date for an upcoming cruise draws near.

Looking at it objectively, I can't help pointing out that, of course, your loss will have been someone else's gain. They will have benefited by enjoying the same cruise for substantially less than the price you paid. That is not an unusual situation, as a bargain purchase of any sort will only really be a bargain if others are paying more. 

It was good of you to take the trouble to bring this information about Expedition cruise pricing changes to the communities's attention. Fortunately, you seem far too sensible to let the issue spoil what I'm sure will be a wonderful Viking journey.

20 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

In my experience, PE has no middle seat. That alone makes it worth it.

I completely agree with you in that, I would not fly long-distance in a middle seat!  

Fortunately, we have always been able to fly transatlantic in seat pairs, even in coach. It used to be easy back in the days of the 767 and before the densification of the 777s, but it is still possible even now.

Many airlines, BA and AA include, have their 777 cabins configured with seat pairs at the rear of the cabin. The World Traveler section on upper deck of the BA A380s is currently 2-4-2, so there is no middle seat as such. (though that is likely going to change and become a 100% business class area in the next 12 to 18 months) The A330s of Aer Lingus, Virgin and other airlines have a seat pairs the full length of each side of the coach cabin.

DW and I have been very comfortable in seat pairs on all our many daytime transatlantic flights. As I mentioned in my original post though, night flights are a very different matter. We have now reached a level of seniority when we really wouldn't want to be sitting up all night in either coach or PE, which is where business class is a wonderful solution!

13 hours ago, oskidunker said:

Not worth the extra money, in my opinion. You cant sleep. Go business or coach. 

I was thinking the exact same thing as I read through the thread! My view is that PE is a considerable extra cost for a marginally improved experience.

We find daytime flights, even the longer ones, quite acceptable in coach. Night flights are another matter altogether and that is when we look to get business seats. 

So, for TA flights, eastbound is usually a night flight in business and westbound usually a daytime flight in coach. 

The total cost is a little more than a PE return but we feel that getting a lie flat seat for the night sector is a huge benefit.

6 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

CD is Cornealia, I don’t know who the GM is.

Thanks for your general observations, quite reassuring.

The GM's name should be on the digital board displaying photos and names of officers. It is in the corridor that goes past the lift on the port side just across from the piano in the living room, between guest services Chef's Table. It sometimes takes a day or two to update after a changeover day but is usually correct.

Hope the sea settles down for you soon. 

16 hours ago, deec said:

photopro...I am sure meant NOW that they are at home there are no wine lists or menus!!!

Ah, yes, I understand now. No one picking up wet towels in the bathroom either 😁

Thanks to you, and @aungrl for setting me straight.