CDNPolar

There was coffee and I think some muffins available as of 1:30am in the basement ballroom of the hotel - this was something that some were complaining about, they wanted full breakfast. It's 1:30am - who is eating breakfast? The charter flight will give you a ham/cheese bun and a drink/coffee only during the three hour flight. Perhaps there was an additional "snack" item too. The Ushuaia airport level where these fights take off from is small and very crowded. There are all kinds of early flights to other areas in South America - the departure gates were full to overloaded and many were sitting in the corridor and on the floor. All seats were taken. You bus to the aircraft from there. The ship left port at 7:00pm that night. When we got to the ship, there was a Viking ship in port - anchored, not at the pier - that was to have left the day before and it remained in port because the Drake was too rough. We left at 7pm, but the Viking ship remained and did not leave until the next day. We were "warned" by many - be prepared to be flexible. Everything is weather dependent, including the departure the first night.

Enjoy!

Oh my goodness, you will love it. The problem that you will face as we are now is that no picture will tell the emotion that you feel when you see the landscapes, the ice, the penguins. The pictures will be your memory of the real thing but no one that you show the pictures to will get the same feeling as you will being there.

This was our first Expedition ship and we have been Viking Ocean and River diehards. We were wondering how we would find the ship, but in general, it is very clean and nice. There is nothing overall that I could be negative about with the ship, the cabin, and the decor. We are now considering heading North for an Expedition in the future too after this experience.

We just returned from Antarctica on the Fridtjof Nansen. Landings were pretty strict in timings. They are strict in timings because they can only have 100 people on the continent at a time, and when you have 400 people that you have to get back and forth in one afternoon, you have to keep people tight in the timing. You are also dealing with multiple cruise lines that have "bookings" for these landing sites. You have set times that your ship has to be in and out. For those that are saying that they had 2 hours on the continent at a time, good for them, but they could have been on a smaller ship with less guests, or had a landing site booking for longer. We were told one day that we had to wait to land because there was a ship at the landing site that was soon to leave. This is all about how many people can land at one time. Basically we were instructed that we had to be back at the landing point anywhere from 50-60 minutes from the time we put our feet on the continent or we would delay or possibly prevent others from landing. If they cannot get you off the continent and others back in the time slot they have, then you will have issues. You have cruises that offer 2 landings per day and longer landings but these are smaller ships with less people. Snowshoeing was 90 minutes but this is including getting the snowshoes on and getting started. Kayaking was 45 minutes in the water. This was our experience just returning yesterday from Buenos Aires.

Just got home yesterday - Friday January 13, 2023 - from our Highlights of Antarctica cruise on the Fridtjof Nansen. A few notes of interest: We booked this cruise over two years prior to the sail date. I think 27 months in advance. We flew into Buenos Aires a day earlier to ensure that there were no travel delays that would prevent us getting to the ship on time - no way to "catch up" with this cruise if the ship departs without you. We packed the following in our carry on in case our checked luggage was lost - Gloves, hat, scarf, wool under layers, wool heavy socks, waterproof pants, fleece top, and down jacket. If you lose any of these then you are not going to be comfortable on the landings or zodiac cruises. We did NOT get prescription medication for sea sickness, but did take with us powdered ginger capsules, and Gravol 50mg. Some of the prescriptions medications have side effects that we did not want to risk. Our MD suggested the Gravol and to take at as much as 100mg every 4 hours if necessary. We had 5-7 metre waves on the Drake Passage and we each took one 50mg Gravol in the morning and one in the late afternoon and we were perfectly fine. MANY on the ship did not leave their cabins on these days. We did buy Reliefband at about $120 each and in our opinion they did nothing. We purposely booked a mid-ship cabin to reduce the movement that we would experience Now to the review: The Hurtigruten experience starts with one night in a hotel in Buenos Aires (BA) and then an early morning call (2:30am) for your charter flight to Ushuaia. We go with the flow of travel over the many that complain constantly. If we leave the hotel at 2:30am, then there must be a reason for it. You are flying a small charter flight with no upgrades available and it is a 3 hour flight. Again, just go with it. We arrived in Ushuaia at about 11am and cannot board the ship until after 2pm so we were let loose on the little city. We found a seafood restaurant that had the best fresh crab we have ever had and started our trip that way. Fabulous meal. The restaurant was La Cantina Fueguina De Freddy. It is on the main shopping street in Ushuaia. We boarded the ship and were immediately impressed with the decor of the ship - not overstated but still elegant enough. We were very happy with our cabin as it was well appointed and very comfortable. We headed out that night and hit the Drake Passage after we had fallen asleep. I woke in the middle of the night knowing we were in rough waters because I was literally rolling side to side in the bed. Next morning after being up for an hour or so was when we decided to take the Gravol. We were not really sick at all, but there was a "Twinge" that was there. The other thing recommended is to eat. You should have food in your stomach to reduce the effects. It was also "fun" to learn how to walk around the ship in these kinds of seas. We have been in what we considered rough waters before, but nothing like this. You are advised to always have one hand on the ship - either a wall or a handrail. Always remember that if the ship lists or rolls to the left, it is going to go back to the right. This is where people lose their balance when they are not prepared for the opposite action. Unfortunately about 14-16 hours into sailing we were informed by the Captain that we were turning back to Ushuaia to evacuate an ill guest. We did not know then what the issue was, but later found out that it was a guest that fell due to the rolling of the ship and broke her hip. This put us behind, but everyone seemed to take this in stride, and we have to remember that we could have been that person that needed medical attention. Once you are in the Drake Passage, there is no helicopter evacuation or fixed wing evacuation. Only thing the ship can do is turn back. The itinerary has time built in for things like this and the Captain turned our itinerary around so we would not lose any days of landings and activities. We arrived for our first day near the continent at Deception Island with both a landing and a boat cruise anticipated. Unfortunately the weather was not good and we could not do either. As we moved through the rest of the itinerary we had fabulous weather and had landings, boat cruises, camping, snowshoeing, and kayaking, as anticipated. The biggest part of my review will be the Expedition Team. One word describes this team. AMAZING Amazing in every way. The expeditions - the landings - the kayaking - the snowshoeing - the Penguins, Whales, and Seals - this is why you go to Antarctica. You need a great team to bring you an experience that is memorable and exceeds expectations, and this team did just that. This team and every member on this team was personable, fun to be around, knowledgable, and WORKED VERY HARD everyday to ensure that we had a great time and the best experience possible. This team deserves a standing ovation. They don't have an easy job getting all of us non-kayakers, non-snowshoers, non-hikers in and out of zodiac boats and on and off of landing sites that are not landing sites, they are raw and rough coast lines that are NOT built for ease of in and out and up and down. I am in reasonable shape and still almost landed in the water during the transfer from the kayak back to the zodiac. Yes, these transfers are done in the water away from the ship. I cannot say enough about the Expedition Team. The food and the service in general: The buffet was always different for breakfast and lunch each day and frankly we felt the buffet food was better than another luxury line that we frequent. That clue is in the signature.... The menu dinners however were adequate. Nothing special, but nothing wrong with the food either. There was one "burger joint" beside the main restaurant that did not excite us either. There is one "pay for extra" restaurant that after looking at the menu we were not even going to try to get a reservation. Simply not worth it if the food is coming out of the same kitchen. The service in the restaurant was a bit lacking, but it was buffet for 2 of 3 meals a day. We found a team of two servers that we loved and we asked for their section from that point forward. These two were attentive and personable. (We however were not on this ship to be wowed by the food or the servers, we were on this ship for an Antarctic experience which we were ecstatic about.) The guest service desk and team were great and immediately reacted to any need that we had. The Lottery for excursions and general flexibility: Sign up for what you want to do - kayaking, showshoeing, camping, etc., but keep in mind that you may not get one or any of your options. It is truly a lottery. Some cabins got 2 and 3 options, and others got nothing. You must be flexible. The activities and the plans will change in a minute as the weather can change in a minute. You have to be prepared for plans that you looked forward to go away with little notice. The one great thing about 24 hour a day light is that if you have a bad day today, and tomorrow is great, they can run the expedition excursions well into the night. We left for our snowshoeing at 8pm one night. Overall thoughts: Would highly recommend Hurtigruten and this cruise. We got everything and more that we expected from this cruise. We are seasoned world travellers and have learned that most people raise expectations and end up disappointed. We take everything as it comes and at face value and understand that with travel, there are delays, cancelations, problems, and challenges, and it is not what happens but how you handle it. We were not without issues on this trip, but you will not hear us complaining especially when the core purpose of this trip exceeded our expectations. Many had issues with the time we had to leave the hotel on the first night and are going to write letters to Hurtigruten - go ahead - but in the end, did this distract from the experience in Antarctica? For us no. Are we going to attack Hurtigruten about this? No. We LOVED this cruise and the experience. End of story.

As WNcruiser also indicated above, Viking is not a lively ship at night. Some ships have a show at 6:15pm and always at 9:15pm but these shows are NOT the big production numbers that you have on larger ships. Viking have the Viking Band (Keyboard, Drums, Guitar) usually accompanied by two singers (male and female) which perform in the Torshavn Lounge nightly. Then there is a production team of 4 (usually 2 female and 2 male) that do the nightly shows in the Star Theatre. These 4 are joined by the Cruise Director and Asst. Cruise Director for some shows and sometimes Viking brings on additional entertainment. We have seen various different entertainers on one or two nights. NOT large productions and although we feel very good, you may not find this enough. Outside of the 45 minute show each night then in the Atrium, and the Explorer Lounge, you will either have a pianist, string duo, or guitar player that also sings. All in all, pretty sedate. We feel Viking is higher level service than others, but that is subjective. All Viking cabins are balcony - there are no interior cabins. Viking is closer to an all-inclusive type cruise. (CLOSER, but NOT all inclusive). All cabins are balcony, beer and wine included at lunch and dinner, port fees and taxes covered, one included excursion in each port, specialty restaurants included, WiFi included... and perhaps a few other things... What we love about Viking Ocean are the Resident Historians that give talks daily on where the ship is or the port you are about to dock at. Some people call Viking "the thinking person's cruise". Viking is definitely not full of activities all day long like some of the larger ships.

This is likely a silly question that I just asked here. If you google the time of Antarctica, it shows 18 hours ahead of my time EST, but when you look further, most entries state that Antarctica really does not have a time zone and the research stations all work on their own time zone. I assume that we will not change clocks at all?

There is a significant time difference from Ushuaia to Antarctica. I think Antarctica is 18 hours ahead. Crossing the Drake Passage takes about 48 hours. How do you deal with that time change? Does the ship move the time as you go, or do you just stay on Ushuaia time because Antarctica is light 24 hours? It would make sense to me to just say on the same time setting and that way there is no issue with time zone tiredness, but I have never seen anyone bring this topic up...?

It is the US based Delta FlyReady that is asking for all of this. We are not really "being asked". There is a link on the Delta account page where you can click the FlyReady button and it asks for all of this. It did not seem mandatory, it was just there and I continued down the rabbit hole. We know through searching all government web sites that we do NOT have to prove vaccination or any of that now, BUT, we are flying on December 26th and with all of the chaos at airports from weather we want to sail direct to bag drop and not have to be stopped anywhere for a check of anything. This is why we decided to comply and provide everything they ask for. We have no concerns about rights or disclosure... we got over that 3 years ago because we wanted to travel, so we uploaded and complied with every ask... our vaccination status is as public as you can get! Delta FlyReady finally accepted my husbands upload and we have now got everything uploaded! Not sure why it did not before but it has finally now.

I have researched in depth travel medical and cancel interruption insurance for Canadians, and never come across Goose before. That in no way means that Goose is not a reputable company, however, we have a good friend that is an insurance broker who insists that it is about payment of claims. Her intelligence is that Manulife have the best claim payment time in Canada. We asked her about Goose and she has never heard of them. Insurance is expensive and you want it to pay out and pay out quickly if you need it. My feeling is that if the big guys like Manulife, RBC, TD, etc don't offer the coverage at a reasonable price, then you should ask a lot of questions. Goose's policy language is very specific about pre-existing conditions - which is good - but you have to understand every letter, word, and line of that language before paying for it. This language is difficult to understand purposely and worded - in my opinion - to make you misunderstand. Be cautious if you have a pre existing condition.

No, I don't think that you will get a heated discussion going, but there have been many conversations about this topic. I personally don't mind music anywhere anytime and I am quite able to block it out if it does not meet my mood or needs.

You will also hear frogs croaking... which I always thought were pigs, but apparently they are frogs!

The piped "music" we love is the bird calls and other animal / nature noises in the public bathrooms. Now, the above member states that Viking does NOT have piped music? I beg to differ that some areas do in fact? There have been many discussions on CC about this and it is quite a contentious issue. Have Viking stopped the piped music? I do believe that all the chairs areas on deck 7 around the pool and the WinterGarden have piped music. I do believe also that piped music is in the elevators? I may be wrong with this...

Is anyone trying to book using the Viking Voyager App? We have gone to the dining room and not been successful in getting a time, but then gone to the App and booked a time. Also this past June - could be different now - the Chef's Table was never more than half full and we were at Chef's Table 5 or 6 times in the 12 day cruise. We did eat either 6:30pm or 7:00pm, but even when we were leaving, there were many empty tables. ?? We wondered if they were limiting capacity because of staffing issues in the kitchen? I see these threads with many experiencing challenges booking but it has - to this point - never been our experience. Manfredi's is a bit different as it is clearly more popular, but we are in the minority that prefer Chef's Table to Manfredi's anyway. Frankly we prefer The Restaurant to Manfredi's.

We were refunded to our credit cards anything like shore excursions and the cruise fare was held in voucher. The voucher was the value of the cruise, air, and silver spirits. Anything else refunded.

Tables for two and tables for four as we were travelling with another couple but did not always eat together. We have never on Viking been presented with a shared table.

The last two cruises - December 2021 and June of 2022

This has been discussed many times before. We book the lowest level cabin for many reasons other than price, but also realize that we get NO pre-booking of the specialty restaurants. We board the ship, immediately connect to the ship wifi and then open the Viking Voyager app. We are able to get reservations when and where we want them without any issue. We love the Chef's Table, and we book every 3-4 days when the menu changes and get the time and table size we want every time. Last cruise we ate all 5 menus of the Chef's Table. Manfreidi's can be more difficult - it is clearly more popular than Chef's Table, but we have never had an issue getting reservations. Our first couple of cruises, we booked higher cabin levels with pre-booking options and went through all the frustration that you have been experiencing.

Re your AFIB, this is fine, but 180 days stable will also mean that if your medication is adjusted in that 180 days before going, you would not be considered "stable" and if AFIB was the reason for your medical emergency you may not be covered. Stability in most policies include adjustment to medication - up, down, or stoppage of a med. I am just suggesting that because you are approved with a pre-existing condition that you are 100% covered. Always remember insurance policies are written to not pay out after they confuse the heck out of you with their language.

Looking at the Goose policy language now. Be very careful as the pre-existing condition language of this policy is very specific, and if you are not 100% stable for the 6 months prior to travel, you will be in danger of losing coverage. Also, if you have a test or procedure that you are on a wait list for before you travel and the medical emergency is related to that pending test or procedure, you may not be covered. Very specific and very confusing. I will say that this policy language is clear and complete - much more so than other insurers. Many other insurers are vague which makes it more confusing.

With all due respect, I was not suggesting that if you are in ICU that an insurance company is going to ship you home - that does not make sense. I am talking about a personal experience of a friend of mine that fell on Christmas Eve, broke her shoulder and arm in several places. She stayed two nights in a Florida hospital, was bound tightly and shipped home on an Air Canada flight in coach to have the surgeries in Canada. She was on a stretcher in the hallway for days. She had a choice to stay in the US, but the insurance would not cover her costs. She was not life threateningly critical, but I will tell you the trip home was extremely painful and uncomfortable for her. My only point was that it is not your choice to stay or go - it is that of the insurance company. Yes, there will be acceptance and all of that in the background.

I believe that it is the insurance company that makes the decision to move you back to Canada and they do it because it is cheaper to do so than pay for your care in a foreign country. You may be on a stretcher in a hallway, but you will come home to Canada. Don't think this is your choice in the end.

My husband and I have done 6 Viking cruises to this point and on both River and Ocean. Most have been ocean. We have never had any issue on a Viking Cruise with the crew or guests. We are not a publicly demonstrative couple anyway, but it is obvious that we are a couple. The Viking crew have always been most welcoming and genuine with us. I will say that there are sometimes some sideways glances from some guests who probably don't invite gay friends to their home for dinner, but never anything overt. We have most often observed other gay couples on the cruises that we have been on too. My husband and I are a "few" years apart in age. The only time that there was anything that might be considered off was my husband heard a comment from an older gentleman after I went from the large spa pool to the snow grotto - "That's the sugar daddy." Well, the joke was on him, because I still work and I earn well, but my husband beats me in the salary department so in fact he is the sugar daddy... Here is a link to a post I made in the LGBT forum some time ago. Not a lot of information but there are some comments that you might find useful. A couple of Viking Ocean cruises that I have been on have had a meet-and-greet in the Explorer Lounge for the LGBT guests, but we have never attended so I don't know if they draw anyone out or not. No offence to anyone, but we don't feel the need to find and associate (with intent) with other gay couples on the ship. We prefer to meet others organically as we move about the ship. We tend to be creatures of habit, so that means that we always (or almost always) eat breakfast on the port side of the World Cafe. Many others are the same so you do start to get to know faces and meet people. On our first Viking Cruise we met a couple that will be life-long friends and, on one of our last cruises, similar situation with a single cruiser. The last one we started talking with this woman on an excursion. NOTE: I think that if you wanted to have a meet-and-greet, that you would just have to ask the Cruise Director and they would add it to the agenda... not sure how this happens because some ships have had it and some have not... In general, we highly recommend Viking as long as you are not looking for crazy nightlife and equally over the top entertainment. The Viking evening shows are really enjoyable, but the ship is quiet after the show is over - about 9:45pm. The age demographic is higher on Viking but we have seen a wider age range in the last few cruises. A key point for us however is that there are no children under 18 on the ship. This is a selling point for us. Hope you enjoy and please report back if you do sail with Viking.

We had a situation from an initial covid cancel where we had 2 future cruises booked with deposits. On the cancel of the cruise, we did not realize that the vouchers would be applied automatically, but they were. We did not find this out however until we had to pay for Cruise #1, and what we found was Viking applied the vouchers to Cruise #2 - not the next cruise, but the one further out. At first Viking did NOT want to move the vouchers, but we argued with them to the point where we finally got a person that understood our concerns... 1st concern being that they applied to the cruise that was furthest out which did not make sense. This was a full payment on a cruise and Viking are now telling me that I have to fully pay for the next cruise and they are going to hold my money now for an additional year? No. Not happening. 2nd concern is that the letter / voucher did not say that they were going to automatically apply the voucher, it indicated that we could use it on any upcoming cruise. It was a frustrating time, but we finally got what we wanted. They moved the voucher. Sometimes it depends on who you speak to when you call in. On a recent cruise because of a major itinerary change we were given a 10% of value voucher. We immediately called and indicated that we did NOT want that voucher applied because the rules say that once used it cannot be moved. These vouchers are apparently sitting on our account and have NOT been applied. In the future, if there is ever a cancellation with Viking that I have the option of a voucher or cash back, I will always take the cash back, regardless of the uplift in the voucher value. Too many hassles in using vouchers. This is one area for me that Viking really fails in flexibility and customer service.