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

[Heidi13]

29 minutes ago, Islandbc said:

Hi Andy & Judi,

Just wondering if our neighbours John & Carolyn and friends, Monroe and Deb are still aboard.

Had a major thunderstorm in Indio yesterday.

Hi Janet - Munroe & Deb still aboard, not sure about the other couple 

[Islandbc]

2 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Hi Janet - Munroe & Deb still aboard, not sure about the other couple 

Best wishes to you and Judi.  Please let Deb and Monroe that we are thinking of them.  John and Carolyn are a lovely couple from Oregon and were in the cabin just forward of us.  We are enjoying reports of your adventure.  It sounds like you are in a very safe and wonderful place.  Enjoy!

We are planning our trip home and our 14 day self quarantine at SSI.  

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

According to two different crew on Sky, after they dump us off in Miami on St Patrick’s Day, they are leaving immediately for Norway.  Wish we could stow away!

 

Sky is scheduled for the Baltic this summer, so that makes sense. We hope to be on her in June for the Bergen to Reykjavik "Iceland's Majestic Landscapes."

 

Out of curiosity, I've been following marinevesselfinder.com to see where the Viking ships are. It looks like once the ships disembark the passengers, they are heading to wherever they are going to spend the summer.

 

 

[Nashna]

Heidi...you are correct.  I am in Virginia and the experience of being in a Coronavirus target area is not pleasant.  Lines to get groceries and hand sanitizers are up to two hours.  We are advised to hunker down so all sports activities are cancelled, schools and libraries are closed.  Plays, lectures, and community activities are postponed.  Sadly, our President has bungled this badly so our preparations to fight this nasty virus were inadequate.  We are following all instructions and have settled in for a month of confinement.  We expect to weather the storm and be ready to travel in May.  I hope your ship is able to find safe ports and you can stay in that magical bubble as scheduled.

[TERRIER1]

7 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Sky is scheduled for the Baltic this summer, so that makes sense. We hope to be on her in June for the Bergen to Reykjavik "Iceland's Majestic Landscapes."

 

Out of curiosity, I've been following marinevesselfinder.com to see where the Viking ships are. It looks like once the ships disembark the passengers, they are heading to wherever they are going to spend the summer.

 

 

I was wondering the same thing. Where will all these cruise line ships stay for the non-sailing duration?

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Folks should consider that this stand-down of cruise ships may last until a vaccine is readily available.  The current end-dates of the stand-downs given by the various lines may just be a “throttling” of the rate of cancelations they have to deal with.  Watch for any of the lines extending the stand-down period....

[Peregrina651]

52 minutes ago, TERRIER1 said:

I was wondering the same thing. Where will all these cruise line ships stay for the non-sailing duration?

 

For example, according to MarineVesselFinder, Viking Sea has left Puerto Rico and is not due to arrive in Gibraltar until March 24. Star is disembarking passengers in Tilbury/London today. Sky is heading to Miami and then according to the live thread for that sailing will be heading to Norway (and will probably again take her time getting there). Sun/World Cruise, currently heading to Sri Lanka, continues to make its way to London. Orion is still finishing its cruise. Jupiter is currently docked in Buenos Aires.

 

My guess, and note that I said guess, is that most of the ships will be spending at least a portion of the time between now and April 30, making their way slowly to their summer homes; maybe it is cheaper not to be tied up somewhere and not paying port fees.

[Peregrina651]

4 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Folks should consider that this stand-down of cruise ships may last until a vaccine is readily available.  The current end-dates of the stand-downs given by the various lines may just be a “throttling” of the rate of cancelations they have to deal with.  Watch for any of the lines extending the stand-down period....

 

Trying not to think too actively about that possibility!

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

[DaveSJ711]

41 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

For example, according to MarineVesselFinder, Viking Sea has left Puerto Rico and is not due to arrive in Gibraltar until March 24. Star is disembarking passengers in Tilbury/London today. Sky is heading to Miami and then according to the live thread for that sailing will be heading to Norway (and will probably again take her time getting there). Sun/World Cruise, currently heading to Sri Lanka, continues to make its way to London. Orion is still finishing its cruise. Jupiter is currently docked in Buenos Aires.

 

My guess, and note that I said guess, is that most of the ships will be spending at least a portion of the time between now and April 30, making their way slowly to their summer homes; maybe it is cheaper not to be tied up somewhere and not paying port fees.

We’re on the Jupiter right now.  Yes, we’re docked in Buenos Aires, but nobody on board has much interest in sightseeing.  A pounding rainstorm doesn’t help of course.  But the big problem is getting out of town.  The airport is closing on Monday per an order from the Argentine president. So everybody on the ship is changing flights.  Linda and I thought Viking Air had come through for us - but we learned this morning that our revised flight to Miami is scheduled to arrive after our connecting flight departs!  Not good.  So we’re stuck in a state of limbo until we learn how and when we’ll return to the US.  More info later today according to Guest Services.

[Jukebo1x]

32 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Hahaha

[Jim Avery]

32 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

That's Ragnar in all black....

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

That guy’s rear is WAY too small.

[Jim Avery]

19 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

That guy’s rear is WAY too small.

Photoshop.....😱

[Jim Avery]

11 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Hi Janet - Munroe & Deb still aboard, not sure about the other couple 

If this is the Deb with long dark hair and slim, tell her Lois & Jim understand what she meant when she told us "everyone should see South America........Once". 😎

[SempreMare]

1 hour ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Folks should consider that this stand-down of cruise ships may last until a vaccine is readily available.  

 

100% agree, given how infectious it is.  That thought is exactly what is hurting my brain today. 

 

However, I'm mainly replying to say THANKS for this thread.  In a very difficult week, it makes me happy.

 

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Luckily for the CruiseCritic community, ol’ Ragnar is hunkered down in his bunker (Mom’s basement...) and has nothing to do but post on CC 😷

 

PS - Now if only we could get ho-hum to come back...

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Ragnar Danneskjold

[Jim Avery]

14 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Luckily for the CruiseCritic community, ol’ Ragnar is hunkered down in his bunker (Mom’s basement...) and has nothing to do but post on CC 😷

 

PS - Now if only we could get ho-hum to come back...

 

Good point.  In light of events in the cruise industry, a full pardon of Ho-Hum would be in order.  His Idle Jottings brought good humor to thousands.....

[Heidi13]

11 hours ago, Islandbc said:

Best wishes to you and Judi.  Please let Deb and Monroe that we are thinking of them.  John and Carolyn are a lovely couple from Oregon and were in the cabin just forward of us.  We are enjoying reports of your adventure.  It sounds like you are in a very safe and wonderful place.  Enjoy!

We are planning our trip home and our 14 day self quarantine at SSI.  

Will do Janet. Safe travels back up the I-5. Please give us a ring if you are on the Mainland, as unfortunately we rarely make it to the Gulf Is.

[Heidi13]

11 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Sky is scheduled for the Baltic this summer, so that makes sense. We hope to be on her in June for the Bergen to Reykjavik "Iceland's Majestic Landscapes."

 

Out of curiosity, I've been following marinevesselfinder.com to see where the Viking ships are. It looks like once the ships disembark the passengers, they are heading to wherever they are going to spend the summer.

 

 

Here is a link to the website displaying the ship's AIS that I follow

 

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:1.6/centery:51.1/zoom:11

 

In the text box, type in the ship's name and it will show you the latest position. The basic system shows positions when within range of shore stations, but when ships are on ocean voyages you can purchase a premium package to get sat positions. Personally, I extrapolate the position, based on course and speed, to figure an estimated posn.

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

 

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Trying not to think too actively about that possibility!

 

Not ignoring it completely. Just not letting it consume me.

[Peregrina651]

2 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Personally, I extrapolate the position, based on course and speed, to figure an estimated posn.

 

LOL.  Only you and a couple of others could say that.

 

In any case, what you said has helped me to understand what I was seeing on the map and how Orion could be shown as just off the coast of NZ when she was due to dock in Hobart in less than a day.

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, Nashna said:

Heidi...you are correct.  I am in Virginia and the experience of being in a Coronavirus target area is not pleasant.  Lines to get groceries and hand sanitizers are up to two hours.  We are advised to hunker down so all sports activities are cancelled, schools and libraries are closed.  Plays, lectures, and community activities are postponed.  Sadly, our President has bungled this badly so our preparations to fight this nasty virus were inadequate.  We are following all instructions and have settled in for a month of confinement.  We expect to weather the storm and be ready to travel in May.  I hope your ship is able to find safe ports and you can stay in that magical bubble as scheduled.

Our expectations are no ports for 50+ sea days, so if a miracle happens and we get ashore - bonus. Otherwise, we are thoroughly enjoying this marvelous ship and if we get ashore before May 2nd, it will be a bonus.

 

On board, we also have to queue, as we waited about 30 seconds at the wash basins in the World Cafe this morning. 😊 Another few seconds and this amazing crew would have been opening the bubbly. Life aboard is really tough 😁😁🍻

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

For example, according to MarineVesselFinder, Viking Sea has left Puerto Rico and is not due to arrive in Gibraltar until March 24. Star is disembarking passengers in Tilbury/London today. Sky is heading to Miami and then according to the live thread for that sailing will be heading to Norway (and will probably again take her time getting there). Sun/World Cruise, currently heading to Sri Lanka, continues to make its way to London. Orion is still finishing its cruise. Jupiter is currently docked in Buenos Aires.

 

My guess, and note that I said guess, is that most of the ships will be spending at least a portion of the time between now and April 30, making their way slowly to their summer homes; maybe it is cheaper not to be tied up somewhere and not paying port fees.

You have got it right, slow steaming saves tons of fuel and anchoring also saves port fees.

 

You also need to factor into the equation - maintenance. We see this on a daily basis aboard the Viking Sun. Viking are completing as much maintenance and deep cleaning as possible. This is an excellent opportunity to get non-drydock work completed, which will reduce future capital/operational costs. Empty cabins are being deep cleaned, painted and repairs completed. MDR decks are being refinished. This is just a few of the tasks being completed in our first few days.

 

With this many ships laid-up, the owners will be scrambling to try and find drydock space, if ships have an upcoming docking scheduled. If they get approval from Class and can find space, they will reschedule dry-dockings during this lay-up.

 

Unfortunately, other than Star, the Viking ships aren't due for their first dockings. 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

If this is the Deb with long dark hair and slim, tell her Lois & Jim understand what she meant when she told us "everyone should see South America........Once". 😎

Will do Jim - wishing you and Lois were here🍻

 

Can you please send me an email with the names of RV parks close to you, as our preferred park in Indio is full for next year.