Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Ultimate World Cruise 245 days and all the parts. Ongoing review, questions, opinion

Jim Avery

By Jim Avery,
in Viking Ocean

 Share

Recommended Posts

Liz Masterson

Liz Masterson

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, Liz Masterson said:

Today I happened upon this video of the Viking Sun transiting the Cape Cod Canal. I thought you all might enjoy seeing it. I'm sure whoever did the work of putting this together would love to hear from those of you who were on board! 

 

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jim Avery

Jim Avery

Posted
  • Author
Posted

What an amazing sail in to Hamilton, Bermuda.  We were a bit puzzled when the Captain announced arrival at the Pilot station around 2:30pm and arrival Hamilton was shown as 5:00pm but we would see that it is a long, twisting, narrow channel that did, in fact, get us dockside just about 5:00pm.  It was probably the first time we had been on deck since London and the weather was glorious.  Sunny and warm, the uniform of the day onboard has nearly universally changed to shorts.  A far cry from just a little bit ago when you layered up with everything you owned..... Bermuda is a beautiful place full of pastel colored houses and the water is Caribbean clear.  We easily could see the reefs either side of the channel.  Glad we have a Captain that pays attention.  Went ashore but as it was Sunday evening lots of places were closed.  Still nice to walkabout and get the lay of the land.  We ended up in Hog Penny Pub for some local brew and a bite or two.  Today it is perfect out on the balcony.  We are heading out for the Crystal Caves excursion so will finish later.  😎

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clay Clayton "Live from...." Rare

Clay Clayton

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

What an amazing sail in to Hamilton, Bermuda.  We were a bit puzzled when the Captain announced arrival at the Pilot station around 2:30pm and arrival Hamilton was shown as 5:00pm but we would see that it is a long, twisting, narrow channel that did, in fact, get us dockside just about 5:00pm

 

Jim 

We had a similar experience earlier this week sailing up river to dock in Shanghai. When we hit the harbor at breakfast I couldn’t figure out why we weren’t docking til noon.  Little did I know how far into the city we were going!  Docking next to the Bund made for a great lightshow from our Veranda!

 

It should be interesting tomorrow, apparently the Chinese officials have rescinded their permission to dock for clearing the ship, instead we have to anchor and then once they clear the ship proceed to the dock. Delaying arrival by at least three hours-should make for interesting excursion departures!  Now I think I understand why Viking isn’t doing this itinerary again!

 

Have fun in Bermuda, post some pictures of you in shorts, long Sox and your blazer please! 

359D5CBF-B5EF-4C4F-A003-0104E171DE15.jpeg

Edited by Clay Clayton
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jim Avery

Jim Avery

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

 

Jim 

We had a similar experience earlier this week sailing up river to dock in Shanghai. When we hit the harbor at breakfast I couldn’t figure out why we weren’t docking til noon.  Little did I know how far into the city we were going!  Docking next to the Bund made for a great lightshow from our Veranda!

 

It should be interesting tomorrow, apparently the Chinese officials have rescinded their permission to dock for clearing the ship, instead we have to anchor and then once they clear the ship proceed to the dock. Delaying arrival by at least three hours-should make for interesting excursion departures!  Now I think I understand why Viking isn’t doing this itinerary again!

 

Have fun in Bermuda, post some pictures of you in shorts, long Sox and your blazer please! 

359D5CBF-B5EF-4C4F-A003-0104E171DE15.jpeg

Haha, you won't see me in that outfit.  Short, T-shirt and flips is about it.  Nice shot of Shanghai.  The exact same balcony view we had on the Sun last year as we stayed 3 days in Shanghai for the big deal Christening ceremony.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cyber Kat

Cyber Kat

Posted
Posted
On 10/14/2019 at 7:48 AM, Jim Avery said:

What an amazing sail in to Hamilton, Bermuda.  We were a bit puzzled when the Captain announced arrival at the Pilot station around 2:30pm and arrival Hamilton was shown as 5:00pm but we would see that it is a long, twisting, narrow channel that did, in fact, get us dockside just about 5:00pm.  It was probably the first time we had been on deck since London and the weather was glorious.  Sunny and warm, the uniform of the day onboard has nearly universally changed to shorts.  A far cry from just a little bit ago when you layered up with everything you owned..... Bermuda is a beautiful place full of pastel colored houses and the water is Caribbean clear.  We easily could see the reefs either side of the channel.  Glad we have a Captain that pays attention.  Went ashore but as it was Sunday evening lots of places were closed.  Still nice to walkabout and get the lay of the land.  We ended up in Hog Penny Pub for some local brew and a bite or two.  Today it is perfect out on the balcony.  We are heading out for the Crystal Caves excursion so will finish later.  😎


You are in my favorite place in the whole world - at least as much of the world as I’ve seen!   We love the Hog Penny Pub!  Their onion rings, Bermuda Fish Chowder and flaming banana fritters are fabulous!  
 

Check out the Lobster Pot, Harry’s on the Waterfront and the Swizzle Inn out by the Caves if you have time!  

 

 Is Viking doing an excursion to St George?  It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site that seems right up their alley. Take the ferry out to Dockyard. It’s where all the Mega ships have to dock because they can’t get through Two Rock Passage. The National Museum is out there and worth a visit. And if you like fudge, say hello to my friend, Sarah at the pink Bermuda Fudge shop.  For pumpkin everything lovers she has pumpkin fudge!  Tell her Kath from Bermuda Bound sent you!

 

Enjoy Bermuda everyone!  Wish I was with you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jim Avery

Jim Avery

Posted
  • Author
Posted

We are having an absolutely gorgeous sea day.  The roof is open, the pools are active, the pool deck is pretty full, and tropical shirts and T-shirts are the dress of the day.  Warm but not too hot, almost no motion on a glassy sea.  A Mexican buffet in the World Cafe drew large crowds as seemingly every Mexican night does.  I personally find the taco meat and other dishes to have a sweet undertone.  Not what I am used to in Arizona.  But not to worry, I am certainly finding plenty to eat.  

Yesterday in Bermuda was a picture perfect day as well.  We opted for the Crystal Cave tour and are glad we did.  Bermuda does not seem to have any large tour busses so we were happy to see this tour was done in vans with only 6 in each group.  How nice is that?  And, as luck would have it, all 6 in our van are from Arizona.  What are those odds?  Our driver was very pleasant and informative and we headed out from Hamilton on the North Coast Road, stopping at a turtle sanctuary and a scenic overlook.  The caves are up near the airport so we saw a good bit of the North shore.  The caves are beautiful.  Simply magical.  In Arizona we have Karchner Caverns near Benson and these caves are very reminiscent with lots of the same formations.  The big plus in Crystal Cave is the water.  Sort of like taking a cavern and merging it with a Mexican cenote.  The water was so clear as to almost be invisible.  The guide showed us an iPhone 6S in about 50' of water.  Made me hold my phone a bit tighter.  After our time in the cave we were back in the van for a tour through some of the most exclusive properties on the island.  LOTS of money on this island.  Everywhere looked fresh and well tended.  If there is a "bad part of town" we never saw it.  On the way back we took the South Shore Road so saw all new stuff.  Stopped again at scenic overlooks and a pink sand beach.  Really a good outing.  Back in Hamilton we ran into BobinCT everywhere.  We heard about the Swizzle Inn run which sounded fun.  We ran into Bob again at the grocery store.  Stocking up on junk food and other necessities.  After a bit more walkabout and shopping we headed home for a 4:30 sail away.  A great day in a beautiful part of the world.  Now, on to the Caribbean.😎

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TayanaLorna

TayanaLorna

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, Bridget2010 said:

Susan continues her blog even though she is not traveling currently and she provided a link to an interview with Heather Clancy. So here it is for those who might be interested,

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauramanske/2019/09/29/the-secret-inspired-life-of-a-cruise-ship-director/

Interesting article.  Thanks for posting.  I am hoping Heather stays on The Jupiter for the South America itinerary this December-February.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SantaFe1

SantaFe1

Posted
Posted
54 minutes ago, Bridget2010 said:

Just watched the video of the ship transiting the Cape Cod Canal, We were in Manfredi's at a window table for the transit. There are some awesome places along the canal. Would like to do a daylight transit sometime. thanks Liz for posting.

We went through the canal at 6:30 am two years ago, NYC to Montreal.  People were lined up on shore, watching and waving.

2C4D5ED0-88E1-4371-A6D1-CCD88A05CFDE.jpeg

550280FB-C161-44D9-954C-59E0BAB3D7B6.jpeg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clay Clayton "Live from...." Rare

Clay Clayton

Posted
Posted

Just saw an Instagram post with a HUGE Tomahawk steak. Y’all are like Barbie-you get everything!

 

and you have our favorite Restaurant Manager aboard too-tell John that Vlay and Mike hello please!  We miss him-our first cruise without him. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CTBob

CTBob

Posted
Posted

We attended the special tomahawk steak dinner on the pool deck last night and were surprised by it.  The food and service with music provided by King were all Great!  Our thanks to Food Manager John, Head Waiter Jeffrey and Special thanks to Beverage Manager Nikolay who mentioned it to us and also provided the Cherry Crush bourbon drinks.  CTBob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...