BluebonnetTexan

Bummer! We inquired at Guest Services as soon as we boarded.

Pics and details will be up on my blog in an hour or two. Technology is a great thing, all the machines have programs specific to the task at hand. The presser/folder for pillowcases and sheets was most impressive! I was going to upload a pic here but it’s not cooperating.

We were able to take the Galley tour a couple of days ago by the Executive Chef and boy does it give you a new perspective on the behind the scenes action of the ship! Today we are taking the Laundry tour. I’ll report back soon!

We had a lovely first sea day getting pampered in the Nordic Spa. We enjoyed Manfredi’s that evening, but food service was pretty slow. However, the wait staff were excellent and the food tasted great. Our foursome didn’t have other plans for the evening, so just enjoyed each other’s company and being back together aboard Viking. Yesterday in Halifax we had a wonderful private tour to Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, and Peggy’s Cove that we booked through Tours By Locals. If we ever come back I won’t hesitate to book the same guide. The weather was fantastic and it really was a perfect day. As we were preparing to leave Halifax, the captain announced the dreaded itinerary change. Yep, L’Anse aux Meadows is a no go due to their floating pier being damaged in a storm the night before! 🤦‍♀️ It seems this itinerary is jinxed to go there! At any rate, Viking did a last minute substitution of Sydney, Nova Scotia. No time to plan tours, but plenty of time to check out the town of 30,000 on Cape Breton Island and enjoy another sunny day. We will gladly accept that. We ate at Manfredi’s again last night, food service timing was better with same great tasting food and overall attentiveness from wait staff. It’s college football game day in the US, so we were wearing more Baylor gear today. More details of past two days are in my blog.

First Day's impressions are up on my blog now, but no pictures loaded yet. I had issues getting my laptop online but finally got it figured out (VPN issue apparently). Summary: Onboarding A+ - it was quick and easy! We arrived around 10:45 at the terminal and boarded at 11:02! All cabins were ready by 1:30. Departure was a little late, but what a fantastic skyline and sights when we finally sailed down the Hudson and into the Atlantic. Food was good in World Cafe for lunch and The Restaurant for dinner. However, the service in The Restaurant was exceedingly slow. But, I'm reserving judgment on that to see if it evens out over the trip.

Our foursome arrived safely in NYC. Updates for today are on my blog: http://notesbynancy.com/

Well, first hurdle cleared. We are sitting in the United Club lounge in Houston well ahead of our boarding time. Already had an adventure though. IAH is under massive construction and routes thru the airport are constantly changing. Our United app told us to request drop off at Terminal D for check-in, then walk across to Terminal E to our gate. Normally, we’d go to Terminal C to check-in, then walk to E. However, the check-in at D wasn’t going to open til 6am and it was just after 4:30….so we had to traipse the long way over to C to check-in and clear security, then walk to E! Got to the United Club only to see that it didn’t open til 5:30, so had to find a spot to wait for 20 minutes. but as I said, we are here now, our incoming plane has arrived, our departure is on schedule, and the weather in NYC looks like it may cooperate for some touring later today!

See you onboard soon!

Almost time to head to NYC to depart on this itinerary. I feel like we've had it booked forever and can't wait to meet everyone from the great Roll Call we've had. I'm starting this thread for everyone on our cruise to add their experiences as we go - when we have decent internet anyway! I'll also be blogging the trip at: http://notesbynancy.com. Safe travels everyone and see you onboard!

If you check Saturn's current location and weather radar, it appears that it is right in the middle of a considerable rain storm. I'm guessing the weather forecast played a role in missing L'Anse aux Meadows as opposed to the actual weather at the time they arrived. Also, in Cruisemapper it shows their destination is Sydney, NS. So, maybe they are adding that stop before Halifax as a substitute? Hopefully, someone currently aboard will fill us in!

My 89-yo mother has a walker similar to this and everyone is amazed when she makes it fold to go thru narrow places. Hers is not designed to sit down on though.

I’m planning for the worst and hoping for the best! Saturn is currently headed towards Nanortalik, so we will see how it goes for them with the two Greenland ports and L’Anse aux Meadows afterwards. When do you leave home for NY? Hopefully, there will be additional data points on those ports before we all leave our homes for the August 30th sailing.

We did Cape Sounion last fall on a small group land tour. It was a last minute add-on that our tour manager suggested. He ordered a couple of minibus drivers to take those in our group who wanted to go for sunset, then took us to a seafood restaurant on the way back. We were glad we did it. Sunset pics are hit and miss. But we managed a couple of nice shots that evening.

I recently learned that the magnets are generally stronger in that position!

@Nanaby8 I suggest you start a new thread asking about the Iconic Mediterranean Treasures cruise extensions along with any specific questions you have about them.

Guess the first group of CC members sailing on her will have to crowd source the list of sliders! With the increased beam of Vela that seems to have probably added a couple of feet to the length of each cabin, but I haven’t done the exact math! It’ll be fun to see how efficiently those few square feet are utilized in each cabin type.

Here's my counts of the Original vs Vela class cabins: Original Class Length 745' Beam 94' 930 Passengers Cabin Qty Sqft OS 1 1448 ES1 4 757–1,163 ES2 6 757–1,163 ES3 4 757–1,163 PS1 16 405 PS2 8 405 PS3 8 405 PV1 64 338 PV2 24 338 PV3 16 338 DV1 12 270 DV2 96 270 DV3 12 270 DV4 74 270 DV5 28 270 DV6 50 270 V1 22 270 V2 20 270 Total 465 Vela Class - increased # cabins in Bold; decreased Red Length = 784' Beam 101' 998 Passengers Cabin Qty Sqft OS 1 1488 ES1 10 808-1215 ES2 4 808-1215 ES3 2 808-1215 PS1 16 432 PS2 8 432 PS3 16 432 PV1 56 360 PV2 24 360 PV3 16 360 DV1 8 288 DV2 104 288 DV3 28 288 DV4 74 288 DV5 34 288 DV6 50 288 V1 22 288 V2 26 288 Total 499 Overall an increase of ESx by 2, increase of PSx by 8, decrease PVx by 8, increase of DVx by 26, and increase of Vx by 6. Definitely those of us who like PVx are most impacted with fewer choices overall.

https://viking.panomax.com/neptune - click the Overview Map link is one way. Or the CruiseMapper website is another.

Follow the current Neptune voyage as they just left NYC yesterday on the Iceland, Greenland, Canada cruise. They’ll be the first to try since the early summer itineraries.

I’ve loved following along with you on your trip! Thanks for the great reporting and pics. We did some of the Norwegian fjords on our Viking Homelands cruise in 2019 and will be on the Iconic Iceland, Greenland, and Canada in three weeks. I’d love to see more of Norway fjords and probably Iceland again, too, so may have to add this cruise as a future idea.

@WanderingBrit thanks for such great reporting on your trip. Quick question, about what time did the ship arrive in Seydisfjordur?

@gers and @CastleCritic - thanks for the info. I'll definitely be reading those reviews. @deec - I hope you post a review when you go. I always enjoy the info you provide on the Viking Ocean boards.

I’ve been watching it, too. It’s been flaky since around June 19, didn’t update for days, then next thing I know it’s back and definitely caddywampus! I think I used exactly that word showing my husband! 😁 Hopefully someone onboard will see this and let someone know people want to see the scenery without getting a crick in their necks! LOL! That said, there are some pretty cloud patterns today! 🤣

I’ve looked at these itineraries on other lines long before Viking entered the US market. They are all pricey, IMO. I just did a quick comparison of the NO to Memphis trip on Viking vs. American Queen for early Dec 2023. AQ has smaller cabins at the entry level than V, so a lower entry price for the lowest level cabins. To compare similar size cabins to Viking’s lowest priced cabin, the price is pretty close to the same. My understanding is that US labor laws require paying staff more than they’d make say on an EU River Cruise. Thus, the high prices relative to River cruises in the rest of the world. Probably some other factors, too! Market is probably what you indicated as well as those for whom $$$ don’t matter quite as much.

I didn't even try the "price and build" but did see it was very limited on what seemed to be available - as you'd expect at this late date. It is a pipe dream for me, too, at this point. I suspect all the early booking perks are gone though.