Frenchberet

3 hours ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

Can anyone provide insight on how Viking requires only one sea day to cross the Drake Passage (each direction) from/to Ushuaia when it seems every other cruise line that uses the same port states two sea days each way?

 

I looked at departure times and Viking doesn’t leave that much earlier, maybe 3-4 hours earlier only.  🤔

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!

1 hour ago, Baron Barracuda said:

DW & DD are booked on the Polaris Dec. 2024 (too adventurous for me).  We did a lot of research plus had some great chats with our Viking rep Maury who is planning a trip there herself.  I'm not sure if any one cruise line has a better chance of getting you ashore then any other.  It's all weather dependent.  We chose Viking because of favorable experiences with their ocean and river products.  One thing Maury told us is the ship is only allowed to have 100 people ashore at a time. so 3/4 of the passengers will always be offshore sightseeing in zodiacs and submarines or doing things aboard ship.  The day is broken into periods and you pre-book your desired activity for each period of every day.  As with the ocean cruises those in higher level cabins get to select first.  If weather delays morning activities once landings do commence they still begin with period 1.  So later periods for that day may be cancelled.  Because of this we booked a higher level cabin than we otherwise would to secure us a better place in line. 

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.

On 8/3/2023 at 2:39 AM, OneSixtyToOne said:

Also on the first day, they will try and accommodate those who have not had the opportunity to reserve yet. They will ask you to come back the next day if you are trying to book an additional reservation.

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.

10 minutes ago, photopro2 said:

Viking have dropped the word "guarantee" in regard to dining reservations in the cabin descriptions on the website. They are now simply described as "priority" reservations. Don't worry, they are really just a marketing ploy to give something of apparent value to those in more expensive cabins. The reality for all cabin classes has always been that, once on-board, getting the required reservations is not normally a problem.  

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!

3 hours ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

Just off Venus and couldn't agree with you more....tone it down, we don't want to listen to your conversations and we especially don't like trying to eat our dinner with loud laughter. The more wine, the louder it got. We are all for having a good time, but that high pitched loud constant laughing...ugh. 

 

No jeans in the restaurant was followed, however they have a list behind the desk that list the people who are to be allowed in wearing jeans. On our cruise the list was long....the most people they have ever had on a cruise did not get their luggage. They kindly accepted us with what we had. 

 

 

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

4 hours ago, midwife said:

Hi Clay, love your posts. We are getting on Saturn on the second. Just looking at the webcam. There seems to be an issue it seems to have come loose we were looking at the sky and the deck. Different perspective😂. 
 

o

Yes, the camera is sideways again 😕

3 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

I don't remember ever getting emails from Viking on excursions that I book.  I keep track of it myself.  Eventually, they all appear in the final edocs that get sent out.

However, you can always look online on MVJ on your calendar to see the excursions that you booked, as they appear there (although it isn't as convenient).

Look at the “calendar summary”.

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Anyone try room service or have a copy of the menu?

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.“

32 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

I would rather be seated next to a quiet table of diners in ripped jeans, baseball caps and muscle shirts than next to a table of exceptionally well-dressed loud talkers or people having full volume FaceTime calls at the table.  If we are focusing on the "dress code as common courtesy" angle, can we loosen up the dress code and tighten up the behaviour code?

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

44 minutes ago, irishwitchy said:

Did you end up on the waiting lists for anything?  How many times did you get to land?  

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.

8 minutes ago, irishwitchy said:

Looking at booking on Octantis and was also concerned that if I don’t book a penthouse,  I will miss out on the sub and perhaps other excursions in Antarctic and the Faulklands.  Do the comments above apply to these cruises, also? 

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.

1 hour ago, LindaS272 said:

Brilliant sunny day here in Svalbard. Did a somewhat strenuous hike up a glacial valley to find fossils (with Hurtigruten). Wonderful to be outside of town in the vast terrain. So reminded me of Alaska. Due to a mother & daughter who missed their pickup place, we got a late start up the valley and had to come back for them, so I’ve titled this excursion “Glacial Hike, & Maybe Fossils.”😎

 

Kent asked about a review of the ship’s ambience. In order to avoid the trolls (if that’s possible), I’ll only comment on food 👍; “entertainment” 👎; lectures 👍.  One side note about the entertainment—other than the first night with a destination violinist, we have not been to the shows. The advertisements were not compelling as several were British entertainers from obscure talent shows. A definite negative in my book. The background musicians have been fine.

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.

30 minutes ago, island lady said:

Another curious question....the boots Viking provides.   Are they "over your shoes" rubber type boots, or simply wear a good pair of socks to slip into the ones they provide?  Need to figure out my shoe packing for our Octantis NW passage cruise.  Thanks in advance!  🙂 

 
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.