Frenchberet

7 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Yes, the 1-piece Mustangs are what we've always had on RIB usage anywhere.

 

I'm not surprised about the lack of them for the Great Lakes. I don't know the average temps, but summer water temps will hit highs in the mid-70's on Ontario, Erie and southern Huron. (Superior is a whole other world, as documented by Gordy Lightfoot!). 

 

Your post triggered my memory that even in Antarctica, there does not appear to be usage of full suits. This pic appears to show pax with the issued Viking jacket, separate pants and boots as well as flotation - but it may mean more to your professional eye than my amateur one.

 

Perhaps one of the experienced pax from Octantis or Polaris down south can advise ... I would not want to be over the side in this attire. Cheers! 🍺🥌

 

We did Viking’s Antarctic Explorer on Octantis in February 2023.  On all the landings, RIBs, and special ops boats we wore the red Viking jacket, liner jacket, waterproof pants, and waterproof boots as pictured above.  There was also a black life preserver around your neck, secured with straps around the waist.  Everything was provided by Viking and we got to keep the red jackets and liner.  We brought our own hats, sunglasses/goggles, and gloves.  We wore long underwear and jeans under the pants and a long underwear top and long sleeved shirt under the jacket liner.  It took about 20 minutes to “suit up”.  The temperature in Antarctica was around 30F (I don’t recall the water temperature but I wouldn’t have wanted to fall in!).  

When we did the Midnight Sun cruise in Norway in July we wore the one piece survival suits for the optional RIB excursions (provided by the contractor).  

Linda, so happy you are posting!  We’re on this cruise in a few weeks and appreciate any info/tips you can share.  Hope you have a wonderful trip!

4 hours ago, DGHOC said:

It's far too tempting to address these issues directly but we shouldn't have to police other's behaviour.

 

There was a woman having breakfast near me in the world cafe one morning. She was wearing her bath robe which was gaping open and she had her legs splayed. All around her you could see nervous uncomfortable eyes. I decided to speak to one of the food managers who were shocked and unsure what to do so in the end I bent down next to her and explained the situation. She responded that all was ok because she had a bikini on underneath. I responded that all was not ok for those breakfasting around her and that she was in a restaurant wearing her bath robe. She departed immediately.

 

What can you do, folk have different habits, standards and attitudes!

I’m surprised to hear that the woman left the WC after you spoke to her.  Her apparent lack of situational awareness and disregard for the other passengers is appalling.  I think this type of behavior goes beyond habits, standards, and attitudes.  Proper dress and good hygiene shouldn’t need to be taught or policed among a group of world-traveling adults.

On 6/27/2023 at 6:26 AM, KaDarr said:

We will be flying into Amsterdam with a three hour layover before moving on to 
Bergen, Norway. Do we have to pay the baggage fee for each leg of the trip?

Check the Delta website.  Probably no charge for baggage on an international flight unless you have more than 1 checked bag each or it’s over the weight limit.

36 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Which ships?

Orion and Jupiter.  We attended a couple of the presentations on Orion and thought they were worthwhile.  We were doing the New Zealand and Australia cruise and wished the films would have been more site-specific.

1 hour ago, Moonlion said:

Another genuine question for those in the know: is there a licensing agency in the US or elsewhere that certifies that a dog has received the necessary training and is a "registered service animal," and ideally a way that establishments can verify (e.g., a QR code or something)?

 

I ask because we know a couple with a pet dog (which I know for a fact is not a trained service animal) who were able to purchase a vest and certificates claiming the dog is a service animal.  They use it so the dog can go to restaurants or stay in hotels with them.  I'm guessing the restaurants and hotels have to accommodate this couple's pet if there isn't some real certification or licensing available for them to verify. 

Did you buy anything at Dale of Norway?  Any discounts at the outlet store?

I just print the Calendar Summary.

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

We were on the Nile cruise with friends.  12 days total with 8 nights on the ship and 4 in port at a high end hotel in Cairo.

 

We were told very directly when picked up from the airport that they did NOT recommend us eating or drinking outside of the hotel or ship.  We could if we wanted to, but they highly recommended that we did not.

 

On the second last full day on the ship of 70 guests, our friend doubled over in pain and had vomiting and diarrhoea.  Bad to the point that the ship called a doctor.  Pain injections and anitspasmodics and antibiotics.  3-4 hours after the doctor visit she felt "human" again and was fine to leave the ship the 2 days later.

 

24 hours after leaving the ship, I woke early - 4am - in the hotel and had diarrhoea symptoms.  This was the day of the Pyramids and yes, I had to miss it.  I did not have the pain that our friend had.

 

Our tour guide was checking on me through my husband throughout the day and because I was not getting better, the tour guide called the hotel and the hotel called in a doctor.

 

Doctor and Nurse arrived with a big bag and an IV pole.  IV with antispasmodics, and the pharmacy delivered 3 boxes of pills, and 90 minutes later they left me in my room to recover.  The pills were two types of antibiotics and one antispasmodic.

 

Neither doctor could say exactly what caused our symptoms, but the interesting thing is that of the 70 people that spent 12 days together, we were the only two that got sick.  No one else was even mildly sick.

 

Doctor "laughed" at me when I showed him Immodium and said, this will never work in Egypt.

 

I asked the doctor how many tourists he sees and he said that "This is my business".

 

$200 UDS for my hotel / house call and $10 for the meds.

 

I have been told that there is an Egyptian cure for this but no one named it.

 

Just be very careful with what you eat and drink and from where in Egypt.

 

 

Did you eat or drink anything outside of the hotel or ship?  Any idea where you picked up the “bug”?

4 hours ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

 

Thanks very much for the information.  So to confirm, lunch is buffet only (the World Cafe Frill aside)?

Info from Viking Daily

2 hours ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

 

Could you let us know what the set-up is for lunch and dinner at the Restaurant and Manfredi (and any other "sit-down table service" restaurant, e.g., Mamsen?)?  Are they buffet or menu for lunch?  How is the quality of the food in Antarctica?

 

Also, do you recall how many landings there are a day in Antarctica?  Is it one or two, not sure because the size is 400 pax which is getting up there for landing logistics in that region...

On the expedition ship (Octantis) we had breakfast and lunch every day at the World Cafe.  The WC is a buffet and, as mentioned previously, includes the Grill, Aquavit Terrance, and sushi area.  At the Grill you place your order and either wait a minute or a server may bring it to you.  Mamsen’s is open for breakfast and  lunch but it is also a buffet and has limited hours (excellent pea soup).  I think the Restaurant and Manfredi’s were only open for dinner.  The menus for both the Restaurant and Manfredi’s were the same as on the ocean ships.  Room service was always available.  We were very happy with the quality of the food and there was never a shortage of anything.
 

There were multiple landings throughout the day.  We signed up for the activities we were interested in (zodiac, special ops, sub, kayak) and received an assigned time to be dressed and down in the launch area.  We were able to do everything we wanted to do.  There were also waiting lists to sign up for additional activities and, if a slot became available (someone cancelled or didn’t show up), they’d let you know.  We loved our Antarctic adventure and would do it again in a minute!

2 hours ago, azdrydock said:

How easy is it to find a table in the Grill at peak times? World Cafe gets pretty crowded on the ocean ships.

Very easy!  We never had a problem finding a table.  I'd guess the World Cafe (including the Grill, Aquavit Terrace, and sushi area) will seat 250+ guests.  The tables are scattered so you're not sitting on top of each other. 

We did the Antarctica Explorer - out of 11 nights at sea, we had dinner in the Restaurant twice, Manfredi's 3 times, room service once, and at the World Cafe the other nights.  We were busy with excursions most days so it was nice to not have a set reservation time.  

Hi, the Main Dining Room on Octantis (Antarctica) had seating for about 100 people, so Polaris would be the same.  We were required to make reservations, either in person or via the app.  No problem getting additional reservations.
 

Many people opted to eat at the World Cafe.  On the expedition ships the World Cafe was redesigned to include the Grill.  We don’t normally have dinner at the WC on ocean but on expedition it’s really a different experience.  We enjoyed many of our dinners there with made to order steaks, lobster, and burgers.  There is also a huge sushi area if that’s of interest.  Don’t forget Manfredi’s and Mamsen’s.  Plenty of great choices!  
 

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

2 hours ago, formernuke said:

We had good luck just using the voyager app to book manfredis. Once we see all the menus we decide what days to do manfredis. 

With the exception of a “pasta of the day”, I didn’t realize that Manfredi’s menu changed.  On Octantis, we loved the various veal dishes with a half order of pasta.  Can’t wait till our next cruise!

 Viking Polaris — Welcome to Cleveland, Ohio!

5 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

The Captain did announce last evening that they were monitoring the situation with the Greenland Ice Authorities, but wanted to let us all know that currently it did not look good - a very unusually large amount of icebergs in Iceberg Alley for this time of year.  He wanted to set our expectations now and said we'd get an update daily.  Wondering when they need to make to the go/no go decision.  We all appreciated the open communication and letting us all know.  I think he used the word "challenging" to describe it.

We are planning to do Greenland as part of the new Into the Northwest Passage itinerary on Octantis.  Hope the expedition ships will have better luck traversing the icebergs!

We’re planning to get shot 6 before our cruise this summer.  Four weeks after shot 4, I got Covid.  Four weeks after shot 5 (bivalent) my BF got Covid.  So, no expectation that the vaccine will prevent us from contracting Covid, we just hope it will prevent us from getting really sick.  Not concerned about anyone else’s vaccine status.

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

I had a Viking agent I really liked and asked him this question.  He said if we book on board he would receive no commission although he could service our account.  He did say that he would be able to offer us the same deal within two weeks of our return.  We found out he COULD EXCEPT for the shorter final payment period.

Hi TayanaLorna, did your Viking agent say anything about the OBC?  We’ve only booked onboard once, but when we did (in Feb) we received $400 OBC for booking 2 cruises.  We used it to pay the gratuities (thanks to someone on this board for letting us know that was an option).  It was a nice perk.  
 

We book directly with Viking (no outside agent) so we never get OBC unless it’s a special sign up benefit.  We have been able to negotiate the 6 month full pay date since we’ve had another cruise booked.  I considered the Viking agents to be “employees” and never thought about them receiving a commission.  Are there benefits (to me) for dealing with the same Viking agent each time I book?  Thanks for any info!

Sorry you’re having a bad experience with the onboard agent.  You can transfer the booking but I’m not sure you can prevent this agent from getting some commission for their part in it.  Maybe just wait to book?  
 

Our experience was very positive.  We booked two cruises while on Octants, took about 15-20 minutes.  Very easy.  

1 hour ago, duquephart said:

 

"Cooked perfectly" and great steak are two different things. A good chef can perfectly cook the sole of your shoe.

I surrender.  Sorry I enjoyed my dinner.

44 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

"Cooked to perfection" only works if it is a pretty good steak in the first place. Although it can be tasty I believe it's mostly due to marinade and seasoning. I prefer the flavor of a great cut of beef. I've never had what they call a NY Strip that was up to snuff either. I'm admittedly a harsh critic when it comes to steak but IMHO Viking has room to improve.

The NY strip at the Grill in the World Cafe on Octantis (Antarctica) was very good!  I had it twice and both times it was cooked perfectly.

Pick your battles.  Your money was refunded.  Case closed.

1 hour ago, WAVTAM said:

We were able to sign up in advance for one of each activity - zodiac landing, special ops boat, sub, and kayak.

 

Are these the free daily excursions, or does one paid for these.

Assume all but sub would be included.

Everything was included, subs too.  No extra charges.  We did an activity each day we were in Antarctica, sometimes two activities.  For example, we took a zodiac to do a landing in the morning then did a special ops boat ride in the afternoon.  There were waiting lists and some people just wandered down (dressed) to fill spots in the event that someone didn’t show up.  It all worked very smoothly.  It was a great trip and we’d do it again in a minute!

2 hours ago, WAVTAM said:

First time in this part of the world. Doing package with air and trip.  Aside from the free daily tour, what is also available to do as excursions if so chooses. Pricing??? Have some onboard credit to use.

What is Viking Expedition Kit

What is Viking excursion gear if needed.

 

Expected range of weather/temperature in Nov/Dec.

Assume a standard n1/n2 cabin will do.

 

Any other tidbits to know.

 

We did the 13-day Antarctic Explorer and Patagonia extension in February 2023.  It was a wonderful trip and we loved every minute of it.  We used Viking Air and upgraded to Premium Economy.  No problem with any of the flights.

The onboard experience with Octantis was great.  The ship was beautiful and a mini version of the Ocean ships.  All daily excursions were included.  We were able to sign up in advance for one of each activity - zodiac landing, special ops boat, sub, and kayak.  Once on board you could sign up for anything you wanted.  There were waiting lists in some cases but it appeared that everyone was able to do everything they wanted to do.  We signed up for 2 cruises while on board and used our OBC to pay the gratuities.  Viking provides all the clothing you need - waterproof pants, boots, Viking jacket and liner.  You get to keep the jacket and liner.

In February, the temperature was around 30F.  Most days were sunny and clear.

We were in a DV cabin which had a big window that could be lower to get a better view or to take photos.  Great trip!  Happy to answer any other questions.  

1 hour ago, cmmaxwell03 said:

Oh cool.  Do they do this for all their cruises?

Yes.  We put the red “leather” tags on when we leave home then add the ones with our cabin number when we arrive at our destination airport.