Insanityx4

We bought the SSP for the first time on our last cruise which was on an Expedition Ship and had a $1,000 on board credit so used it for that. We really liked the package and the convenience but we also had a Nordic Suite so the mini bar went untouched. We just booked another cruise on a Ocean ship in a Penthouse Veranda category and will not get the SSP since we will have the mini bar in our room. We can always get a drink at any bar on the ship if we want and pay for it for far less. I do think we drank way more with the SSP because we wanted to get our $25 pp per days worth!

We were on a Viking Expedition cruise last year and when we boarded there was a man who coughed all of the time in the Explorer's Lounge and World Cafe.. Everyone kept their distance. By the end of the 18 day cruise half of the ship was coughing. Two days before getting off the ship hubby and I both tested positive for COVID. We had avoided it for three years and had all of our updated vaccines. We bought our tests on board. People wouldn't go to the doctor because it cost $140 to see the Dr. and more for the test so everyone just kept spreading things around rather than quarantining.

We were in 4015, a few cabins back but traffic and noise was never a problem. The Explorer's Lounge was never very busy except for evening cocktail hour. The busiest place on the ship was usually in the living room area.

As far as what to pack for clothes. We did an expedition trip at the beginning of the year. I was concerned as to whether or not I needed two sets of clothing. One for casual daytime, and another for dressier nighttime wear. On Viking oceans we always dine at night in the Restaurant unless we had a very late tour where we ended up in the World Cafe. I decided on taking casual daytime clothes with one nicer top and pants for Manfredi's, where we dined twice. We never ate in the Restaurant (we cancelled our reservations) because the options were so limited. Three always available menu items, chicken, salmon, and vegetarian and three other entrees which were same as in the World Cafe. They are only open in the evening. Breakfast and lunch are only available in the World Cafe and Mansen's (except room service). Manfredi's was not great with terrible service so we ended eating all of our other dinners in the World Cafe. The sushi/seafood bar was great as was the Grill with steaks to order, lobster, baked potatoes and cesar salad. The menu options on the expedition ships is far less extensive than on VO but adequate and mostly delicious. We had a couple of themed meals, a taco bar for lunch, full Mexican menu for dinner, and a bouillabaisse bar at lunch. Enjoy your cruise!

As I recall if any binoculars disappeared we would have been changed $450.

Viking also offered a class on how to use the their's or any other binoculars properly.

We were on the Octantis at the beginning of the year and we only had one pair per room. I guess it could depend on your cabin category, but we we in a Nordic penthouse. The binoculars however are very good, definitely not the cheap ones that are on the ocean voyages. My husband brought his very expensive, bulky ones, and the quality was about the same as the ones in the room which are much smaller. If you both want to have binoculars I would advise to bring an extra set. I'm pretty sure these are the ones on board: https://www.amazon.com/Meopta-Optika-8x42-Anti-Scratch-Hyrdophobic/dp/B07RY2TRSD?th=1

I got permanently banned for asking a question about clothing. The person who is the "watchdog" is a very nasty person if she doesn't like your question or comment!

We were supposed to sail on the Polaris in March but she went to the Bahamas for several weeks of repairs. We were transferred to the Octantis, same itinerary but a week later. She's fully repaired now.

We were in 4015 and we didn't hear anything from the World cafe, Mamsen's, the Explorers lounge, the track, the hallway or anything else so I would say no. We were on a different deck but don't think it makes any difference. We were probably in a nosier part of the ship and we really didn't ever hear anything

The Restaurant and Manfredi's are both on deck 1 and are only open for dinner. The World Cafe and Mamsen's are both on deck 5.

There is a bar/coffee area in the Living Room/Library area. I never used it but saw others getting coffee throughout the day as well as mixed drinks. On ocean ships there are also pastries, cookies, and small sandwiches offered in the living room bar, but on the Expedition ships you have to go to the World Cafe or Mamsen's for those.

Whether or not you are able to take excursions, no matter what stateroom category, is dependent on the weather. On some Arctic Expedition cruises, hardly any SOB's, kayaks, zodiaks, or submarines were able to be in the water due to high waves and bad weather. We were on a Nordic Penthouse and it was nice to have a larger room, two full closets plus the drying closet, and the mini bar. However, we also had the Silver Spirits package so we really didn't use the mini bar much.

We didn't order room service but did look at the menu and thought it looked about the same as on ocean ships. By the way Octantis only serves dinner in the restaurant.

We were just recently on the Octantis and the food was delicious. We especially liked the inside grill where steak and lobster are always available in the evening. The sushi bar is pretty much the same on both categories of ship. The choices are limited on the buffet unlike the ocean ships, but very good. We dined at Manfredi's twice and the service was very slow and the food were not as good as ocean ships, in our opinion. The Expedition ships do not have afternoon tea or a Chef's Table. We did not eat in the Restaurant since the choices were limited to three entree choices plus the three choices always available. We were happy with the food on the Octantis but prefer more choices available on the ocean ships. I doubt if we will do another expedition cruise, not because of the food but because there are so many more activities and things to do on the ocean ships.

Yes, much much better. They're very good quality and fairly compact so easy to carry or use from your balcony. We are looking into buying a pair since our trip two months ago. They are much smaller than regular size binoculars. We took our large expensive binoculars and the quality was about the same as the ones on board which cost about $450. On the Octantis they offered a workshop on using them correctly.. The binoculars on the ocean ships are terrible, more like opera classes. I'm pretty sure these are the ones on board: https://www.amazon.com/Meopta-Optika-8x42-Anti-Scratch-Hyrdophobic/dp/B07RY2TRSD?th=1

Just got off of the Octantis a few weeks ago and never heard anything at any time of the day or night. The cabins are really insulated and sound proof. We didn't even hear people in the hallways. We were in a Penthouse Suite but only a few cabins away from a Jr. Suite.

We just disembarked Octantis on Thursday in Ft. Lauderdale. ALL flights were cancelled for two days due flooding. 26 inches in 24 hours. Flights were diverter to Miami. We had Viking Air. Our flight was changed by American airlines for the next night at 8:30. Viking transported us to Miami and put us up at the Sheraton airport hotel and picked up the tab. They didn't provide food but paid for late check out. Couldn't ask for more from Viking. They can't control the weather but felt responsible to get us home. Ft. Lauderdale airport was a mess and so was Miami but we made it home safely today.

On the Octantis right now. They held the departure from Valparaiso yesterday for an hour because a couple who had Viking Air were going to be late. If they had booked independently they would not have done that!

I agree. Travel agents match Viking prices but don't discount their prices.The advantage of a TA are the perks, usually around $500 to $1,000 OBC depending on the cost and length of the cruise.

I have been thinking about what to pack for our upcoming Octantis cruise in two weeks. On all of our other Viking cruises I have packed clothes for day use and other clothes for dinners in the various dining venues. Do most people eat dinner in the World Cafe with the new more casual grill/sushi bar as opposed to dressing up for the Restaurant or Manfredi's? Both are listed as alternative dining restaurants on the Expedition ships. It will make a big difference as to what I will pack. Any input would be helpful. In the past we have only had dinner in the World Cafe after returning from late excursions, but on ships without the delicious looking grill. Thanks!

Our last cruise was a 30 day (part of a world cruise) in Feb, 2020 on the Viking Sun from Sydney to Hong Kong with stops throughout Indonesia, right when Covid hit. Needless to say we didn't make it to China and were turned away from several ports in Indonesia. We called it our "Magical Mystery Cruise" because we didn't know where we would end up or how we would get home. We had Viking air and our flight home was changed about 5-6 times depending on where we were or which country might let us dock, other than for provisions. We ended flying home from Bali, We had be be off of the ship at 9am and our flight wasn't until midnight. Viking put us up in a lovely beach resort for the day including meals and then transported us to the airport that evening. Viking didn't want to book passengers through Asian airports so we were booked on Emirates through Dubai to San Francisco. Our flight time was 26 hours plus a 4 hour layover and we were one of the last flights out of Dubai before they closed the airport. We were very thankful we had Viking air and really appreciated how they bent over backwards trying to accommodate us and get us home safely. We're not sure how we would have made it home otherwise, especially if we had booked our own air.

If you don't use Viking air it's not their problem! Since airfare was included in the cost of the trip I would assume most passengers used it. We were given the option of cancelling and getting our money back but it was only a five day difference and we were looking forward to the trip. Like their ocean fleet, the Polaris and Octantis are exactly the same so it really didn't make any difference to us.

We always book by calling Viking directly and then turning our reservation over to our TA. On our upcoming cruise next month our TA gave us $1,000 OBC which we will use on gratuities and "not included" excursions. It's a win, win for us every time.

We have an upcoming cruise next month using Viking Air. They had changed our flight three times with different times and airlines before we got an email saying we were being moved from the Polaris (due to repairs) to the Octantis with different dates and different airlines. Our cruise had "air included" so the change of dates was easy for Viking to rebook but we got really frustrated with all of it and the constant changes in flights and seats. We wondered if it was because of the included air that we kept getting moved around from flight to flight. After being moved from the Polaris to the Octantis, we had to change our hotel dates (pre cruise), excursions (pre-cruise), airport parking dates, insurance dates (not Viking insurance) and more. We had already paid the trip deviation fee which is not included in "included airfare". If we had booked our air independently it would have a hassle with the date changes but we could have made it work. Even with the frustration we are glad Viking dealt with all of it. We have used both Viking Air and booked our own flights and both have had hiccups. Usually it's much more cost effective to book your own air. On this cruise we were glad we had everything taken care of by Viking. The new flight times are much better too.