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

[Lorizack]

How beautiful! The ocean colour is quite stunning. Thanks so much. We are enjoying your photos.  Looking forward to boarding the Sky on Sunday for our own Viking adventure.

[Geosez]

You’re into the “In the wake of the Vikings” itinerary now.  Rainbows everywhere.  My favorite photo from our trip through Prince Christian sound (Greenland) is of a rainbow diving into the water just off our balcony.  No signs of leprechauns and pots of gold though!  And soon you can start watching for ice bergs.

Thanks for the wonderful pictures - looking forward to lots more in the days and weeks to come!

[georose]

On 9/15/2019 at 3:21 PM, Hockeyump said:

Why is this a boo boo?  Viking have no control over the weather.

 

I was referring to Page 1 of the Viking Daily where it mentions Cruising the South Atlantic.  The ship is in the North Atlantic.  

[Tom.in.nc]

Faroe Islands Scenes...

Sun on the Sun, finally!

 

 

[OceanPatter]

Lovely stop, the Faroe Islands. Of the 18 islands, 17 are inhabited, with a total population ~52,000. Part of Denmark, with the political consensus split on whether to remain or leave. In WWII, this was an outpost of the British military, along with a small contingent of US military, who conducted stealth operations in buildings camouflaged in the mountains.

 

Gorgeous barren landscape with volcanic geology, as you can see in Tom’s photos above. Our tour passed through small, picture-perfect villages with houses all boasting a water view. The activity is entirely fishing-related. Salmon is a huge industry here, with much exported to places as distant as Japan. Russian trawlers come here to catch herring, etc.

 

Our guide, with his deep sonorous voice, sang a Faroe song so that we could hear the native language. Sad to leave this tight-knit community.

[CurlerRob]

A couple of Tórshavn, and from a RIB boat tour ...

[SantaFe1]

5 hours ago, OceanPatter said:

Lovely stop, the Faroe Islands. Of the 18 islands, 17 are inhabited, with a total population ~52,000. Part of Denmark, with the political consensus split on whether to remain or leave. In WWII, this was an outpost of the British military, along with a small contingent of US military, who conducted stealth operations in buildings camouflaged in the mountains.

 

Gorgeous barren landscape with volcanic geology, as you can see in Tom’s photos above. Our tour passed through small, picture-perfect villages with houses all boasting a water view. The activity is entirely fishing-related. Salmon is a huge industry here, with much exported to places as distant as Japan. Russian trawlers come here to catch herring, etc.

 

Our guide, with his deep sonorous voice, sang a Faroe song so that we could hear the native language. Sad to leave this tight-knit community.

Would love to know this place better.  What is heir native language, or what does it derive from?  I’m sure it’s not Danish.  I would love to do this segment, Bergen to Montreal, sometime.

[Liz Masterson]

Looking forward to seeing the Faroe Islands when I do the Iceland's Majestic Landscapes Itinerary in June! Beautiful!

[janetcbl]

1 hour ago, SantaFe1 said:

Would love to know this place better.  What is heir native language, or what does it derive from?  I’m sure it’s not Danish.  I would love to do this segment, Bergen to Montreal, sometime.

Our guide today told us the Faroe Island language is most closely related to Icelandic. It certainly was a wonderful day getting acquainted with this beautiful country...in the sun!, finally

[SantaFe1]

5 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

Our guide today told us the Faroe Island language is most closely related to Icelandic. It certainly was a wonderful day getting acquainted with this beautiful country...in the sun!, finally

So interesting to me how these languages move across oceans!  I see there is only one In the Wake of the Vikings set for 2020 and it is sold out.  I hope Viking sees how popular this is and decides to add many more!

[OceanPatter]

Great photos, CurlerRob. Thanks for sharing.

[Jim Avery]

Hi OP,

Enjoyed meeting your better half at the Beatles show.  If y'all are available how about meet for a cocktail at the Viking Bar this evening.  Usually down there about 5:30. 🍸

[OceanPatter]

Great, Jim ... see you and Lois there. My ‘better half’ likes his ‘dark and stormy’ (rum + ginger beer), and Viking always manages to stock some ginger beer for him. So he’s one happy camper. And one big Viking Ocean fan.

 

Also love the Viking bar for my morning cappuccino. (To keep the calories at bay, I find it best to avoid the World Cafe. TMF = too much food.) Kudos to Viking for keeping the portions in the dining room small. For dinner last night, I had a simply-dressed spinach salad and a minimalist plate of tiger prawns ... perfecto. The seafood on this cruise, especially anything with crab, has been awesome.

 

Great Beatles songs last night. Talented singers, and always impressive video/projections. Viking has a top-notch, high-tech projection system. 

 

Enjoy the the leisurely sea day! As tmw will be an early rise for Iceland  ...

[OceanPatter]

Sorry about the above fixation on food. For those interested in onboard life, you’ll be pleased to know that the lectures have been more-than-stimulating. When I board a ship, my brain usually turns into mush/‘chill’ mode. But these lecturers - who are predominantly British - raise the bar on intellectual stimulation and force me into a state of alertness. 

 

The resident astronomer took us on a whirlwind trajectory/history this morning, touching on: the naked eye, telescopes, radio astronomy, space astronomy, and finally gravitational waves. Last night he led a group on a search for the aurora (from deck 9). While the ship is too far south to see the full aurora, there was a teensy chance of a spotting. Most of us left after about twenty minutes (it was cold), but the few brave souls who lingered were rewarded with a glimpse of the greenish light! The probability improves on Sunday, according to a PK scale (sp?).

 

Back to the lectures ... we had an interesting economics lecture on global currency, which included bitcoin/crypto currency, China’s stockpiling of gold, and of course, the intricate co-dependency of the U.S. and Chinese economies.

 

Great brain food. Kudos to Viking for organizing a stellar cast of lecturers who don’t just entertain.

Edited September 18, 2019 by OceanPatter

[Bridget2010]

Enjoying a little rocky sea and a grey day. Here is the "Daily" for this sea day. Lots to do.

[Bridget2010]

On 9/17/2019 at 9:05 AM, OceanPatter said:

Our guide, with his deep sonorous voice, sang a Faroe song so that we could hear the native language. Sad to leave this tight-knit community.

Our guide said the Lord's Prayer in Faroese - he told us we would understand one word  - we did it was the "Amen."

[brownblonde]

Tom the pix’s are so nice and for each one on the cruise glad it was a nice day.

glad to read the seafood is enjoyable.I posted before that we thought 2 years ago it was (food) just so so. Of course chefs change that may help.

was wondering if the evening entertainment always seems to be music or singing of some sort. They don't seem to put money out on much entertainment. A comic now and then helps break things up 

hope Iceland and Greenland are good stops with weather especially 

Eleanor

Edited September 18, 2019 by brownblonde
Spelling

[TayanaLorna]

On 9/16/2019 at 6:21 AM, Jim Avery said:

Thanks for the great photos Tom.  You really braved the cold and wet to get some good shots.  As we had been out and about in cold and rain for two days we declared yesterday  a "sea day".  Had one of those hard days "doing nothing".  Bergen was a beautiful place and a really nice, easily accessible port from where we docked.  And what a collection of different types of boats and ships to check out.  The Captain made a perfect call delaying departure till after all had eaten and gotten tucked into bed.  We were warned the departure would be bumpy and they were right.  It was dark so I could not really see but it seemed we sailed out into confused seas.  This is sea where waves come from several directions at the same time producing an erratic ride as compared to a steady roll or pitch.  Maybe it is best described as riding in a 4 wheel drive pickup down a bad road and every now and then running over a dead cow.......  BOOM, shake, shake, shake.  But we were prepared for it with bottles, etc. placed on the deck and the coffee slider taped shut.  No issues at all other than disturbed sleep at each "cow".  This morning dawned much smoother.  Still some motion but not bad at all.  Just makes me want to sleep.  We have our next Cruise Critic Meet & Greet at 5:30 pm today.  Viking set up a fajita station on the Pool Deck for lunch.  Lois said it was really good.  I opted for one of the Pool Grill burgers.  Ran into one of our fellow Inaugural WC passengers at the Grill and we compared notes on the differences in this WC.  As we just finished our first segment a few observations.  There is less emphasis on World Cruise.  On the Inaugural, the owner, his daughter, their dog, and others all made appearances.  But then the crew is much more settled in this trip.  The new group boarded in Bergen seems a bit more energetic than the last so a change of personnel (passengers) every few weeks is not as much a difference as was thought on the Roll Calls.  If I can say there is a negative to having segments it is having to attend the emergency drill more often.  We had it yesterday and had also done it two weeks earlier.  On the Inaugural WC, with all passengers doing the entire cruise, we had the emergency drill monthly.  Not a big deal at all.  So a nice easy day today and the Faeroe Islands tomorrow.  More later.

Loved your description of confused seas.  In my experience as a small boat sailor, it is spot on.

[TayanaLorna]

Santa Fe1.  Agreed that In the Wake of the Vikings is a desirous cruise when I first discovered it over a year ago.  However it is really a repositioning cruise and only done once a year by any given Viking Ocean ship depending on their cruise region.  That's why it sells out very early.  Traveling back and forth across the North Atlantic is not like say the Midnight Sun or Baltic cruise where they can go back and forth on a given route for 2-3 months.

 

[Jim Avery]

Onboard Viking Sun we are not seeing any sun today.  Cold and rainy....see a pattern here?  And yet we are heading out in the cold and rain to soak in a pond.....ok, lagoon.  Hope to find a hot shower and Irish coffee in the near future.  More later, including possible Hurricane Jerry issues.  😎

[SantaFe1]

14 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Santa Fe1.  Agreed that In the Wake of the Vikings is a desirous cruise when I first discovered it over a year ago.  However it is really a repositioning cruise and only done once a year by any given Viking Ocean ship depending on their cruise region.  That's why it sells out very early.  Traveling back and forth across the North Atlantic is not like say the Midnight Sun or Baltic cruise where they can go back and forth on a given route for 2-3 months.

 

Yes,  currently it is a repositioning Cruise, although a very different looking one, since it is port intensive.  But it doesn’t have to be.  It’s only a two week cruise, and could probably be run in reverse from Montreal back to Bergen.  And if done during the summer months, less threat of hurricanes and bad weather (although you never know..). Anyway, after our world cruise, Viking sent us a questionnaire about what we would like to see offered.  I told them this cruise with both Iceland and Greenland would be a draw for us.  I hope we get it one of these years!

Edited September 19, 2019 by SantaFe1

[TayanaLorna]

12 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

Yes,  currently it is a repositioning Cruise, although a very different looking one, since it is port intensive.  But it doesn’t have to be.  It’s only a two week cruise, and could probably be run in reverse from Montreal back to Bergen.  And if done during the summer months, less threat of hurricanes and bad weather (although you never know..). Anyway, after our world cruise, Viking sent us a questionnaire about what we would like to see offered.  I told them this cruise with both Iceland and Greenland would be a draw for us.  I hope we get it one of these years!

 

13 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

Yes,  currently it is a repositioning Cruise, although a very different looking one, since it is port intensive.  But it doesn’t have to be.  It’s only a two week cruise, and could probably be run in reverse from Montreal back to Bergen.  And if done during the summer months, less threat of hurricanes and bad weather (although you never know..). Anyway, after our world cruise, Viking sent us a questionnaire about what we would like to see offered.  I told them this cruise with both Iceland and Greenland would be a draw for us.  I hope we get it one of these years!

That would be fantastic if they would do it July-August.  I like the Bergen to Iceland itinerary but it's too short.  Would go back to Bergen and Lerwick in a heartbeat but would love to see the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland and the Canadian Maritimes.  

[Heidi13]

The timing of multiple East/West crossings of the North Atlantic is critical, given that it is a very short season. In addition to storms, they must also consider ice.

 

Cruise ships, unless they have ice strengthened hulls would struggle in the approaches to the Seaway early in the season. Last time in that region, we missed Halifax in late July due to ice fields coming down from Davis Strait/Labrador Sea.

 

The small expedition ships in the polar regions must have higher levels of ice classed hulls. I believe the Viking Ships are classed 1C, which is the basic level, with strengthening in the bow. They would be unable to enter an ice field without ice breaker assistance.

 

Although I have never operated on the East Coast, I never expected to miss a port in late July, but it happened to us in 2015. Therefore, the season could be as short as August/early Sept. 

 

Having never been to Greenland or cruised the Seaway, this cruise is also of interest to us.

[Heidi13]

duplicate post

 

Edited September 19, 2019 by Heidi13

[SantaFe1]

34 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

The timing of multiple East/West crossings of the North Atlantic is critical, given that it is a very short season. In addition to storms, they must also consider ice.

 

Cruise ships, unless they have ice strengthened hulls would struggle in the approaches to the Seaway early in the season. Last time in that region, we missed Halifax in late July due to ice fields coming down from Davis Strait/Labrador Sea.

 

The small expedition ships in the polar regions must have higher levels of ice classed hulls. I believe the Viking Ships are classed 1C, which is the basic level, with strengthening in the bow. They would be unable to enter an ice field without ice breaker assistance.

 

Although I have never operated on the East Coast, I never expected to miss a port in late July, but it happened to us in 2015. Therefore, the season could be as short as August/early Sept. 

 

Having never been to Greenland or cruised the Seaway, this cruise is also of interest to us.

We did Viking’s Eastern Seaboard Cruise two years ago and went up the SL Seaway. It was spectacular, and we would do it again.  We have also been to Bergen and the Shetlands, and would happily do them again too, just to get to the  Faroes and Iceland and Greenland.   We shall see, if they get enough interest, I’m sure they will add cruises.