Frenchberet

It is 2 days to sail from Ushuaia to Antarctica. The wording is weird. Embarkation day is a sailing day. On the return, scenic sailing is a second sea day.

We booked Into the Northwest Passage which sails to Greenland and Canada. It’s on Viking Octantis so we’re hoping an expedition ship has a better chance of completing this icy itinerary!

This sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. When excursions open you are able to express an interest in zodiac landings, special ops boats, kayaking, and subs. You don’t actually book anything prior to embarkation. Once on board you receive a schedule of your activities. In addition, there are waiting lists for everything. We booked a DN3 Nordic Balcony stateroom and we were able to do all the activities we wanted to do.

I don’t have the statistics but I think you’d need to a lot of research across many cruise lines to answer your question. We did the Antarctic Explorer cruise with Viking (Octantis) in February 2023. We had a wonderful time on the trip and would rate it as excellent. We had great weather (clear, sunny skies and 30 degrees Fahrenheit), which enabled us to do four landings in Antarctica. We saw penguins, seals, whales, and many types of birds. It was an amazing experience. In our opinion, the issue with an expedition to Antarctica is that there are no medical facilities available for serious illnesses or accidents. Your trip is dependent on everyone else staying healthy. We were required to complete a medical statement signed by a doctor. There were others on board that (in our opinion) did not appear to be “fit to travel”. Fortunately, there weren’t any problems but it was a definite concern. Also, since this destination is rather weather dependent, (in our opinion) your odds of being able to complete the trip are about the same for any cruise line you’d select.

Just use the app. We made all the additional reservations we wanted on embarkation day.

Clay & Mike, great report! Thanks for taking us all along on your trip! Great info & lovely photos.

We were in a DV stateroom on a 14 night cruise. We booked 1 Manfredi’s and 1 Chef’s Table in advance. Once onboard we booked 1 additional Manfredi’s and 2 more Chef’s Table, no problem. We could have made more reservations but we wanted to keep the specialty restaurants special!

Be sure to download the Viking Voyager app before you leave home. It can be activated and used once you you board your cruise. I was able to quickly book two additional Chef’s Table reservations and one more for Manfredi’s. All the dates and many times I checked were available. The app is great!

What a mess. Were you one of the folks whose luggage was lost? Did it catch up with you at some point?

Yes, the camera is sideways again 😕

Look at the “calendar summary”.

We had room service on our last night on Octantis. We docked in Ushuaia and jumped off to get a few last-minute souvenirs. Canceled our reservations at the Restaurant and ordered cheeseburgers when we returned to the ship. Perfect! The menu was pretty much the same as room service on Ocean.

I wear sea bands and take non-drowsey Dramamine (no prescription). I also take a few Yogi lemon ginger tea bags and have a cup in the evening. Worked well so far🤞

We sailed to Antarctica on Octantis in February. We do not normally eat dinner in the World Cafe on Viking Ocean ships but as mentioned above, the WC has been greatly expanded on the Expedition ships. We loved the steaks and burgers at the Grill, everything was made to order and perfectly cooked. The salads, bread and bakery items were all exceptional (best chocolate cake ever). Nice variety of buffet items. Many tables and lots of room to spread out. We ate at Manfredi’s a few times and thought it was very good. After seven cruises I figured out how to order half portions, plenty of food for me and I can try different things. Dinners at the Restaurant and lunches at Mamsens were all very good (great pea soup). We thought the food was excellent on Expedition.

Thanks for taking us along on your trip. Looks like you have a beautiful, sunny day!

Nice review, sounds like to had a wonderful trip. Happy anniversary!

This is from My Viking Journey, Travel Requirements, Pre-Departure Information. “Viking will continue to require that all guests be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they are departing on a Viking voyage on or before October 31, 2023.“

Must it be either/or? Can you wear pants and talk quietly?

We landed four times in Antarctica. It was amazing being just a few feet away from penguins and seals. One day we ran into a ton of ice flows so the Captain announced it wouldn’t be possible to land that day. We were disappointed but about an hour later he told us they would launch the zodiacs to cruise around the ice. It turned out to be one of the best days as we floated around the icebergs, seals, and whales, very cool. Great photos. Our days were full so didn’t need to get on any of the wait lists. We talked to a couple who did (some people cancelled or didn’t show up), and they were able to go out multiple times a day.

We did the Antarctic Explorer in a DN3 (Nordic Balcony) cabin on Octantis. When we pre-booked excursions it was just a place holder that you were interested in zodiacs, special ops boats, kayaks, or subs. They were assigned once on board. There were also waiting lists. We got everything we wanted and it appeared that everyone else did too. Great trip. No worries.

Not sure where you’re reading this, but don’t worry. We always book a DV cabin and have no problem booking excursions (67 days out). As Jim mentioned above, you are free to book private excursions. Booking dinners are no problem. Reserve whichever cabin you want, once onboard everyone is treated well.

On our Antarctic Expedition cruise in February, a vlogger showed up for breakfast in a white bunny suit. A big, fuzzy, one piece jumpsuit complete with feet and ears. She was traveling with her mother and apparently a very large suitcase. No dress code for this lady, no judgment.

Happy you hear you have good weather! What’s the temperature? Are you the only ship in port? Hope you have a wonderful two days there!

We’ve done 7 Viking cruises (river, ocean & expedition), never experienced this.

For the Antarctic Expedition, it was the “wear a good pair of socks to slip into the ones they provide” type. We wore boot socks. Viking has a large supply of boots and you go down to the Hangar for a fitting early in the trip.