Viking Expeditions Thread

[May B]

6 minutes ago, amypete said:

Edit to my above post - Toronto to Milwaukee… (had been reading so much about it, I accidentally put Thunder Bay!) I do know where the airplane is landing!

Funny! I’m expecting to embark, the day you disembark. Then, from Thunder Bay … fly home through Toronto!

[amypete]

35 minutes ago, May B said:

Funny! I’m expecting to embark, the day you disembark. Then, from Thunder Bay … fly home through Toronto!

I need this cruise!! As you can see!

 

[pontac]

I've just booked Great Lakes Collection, for September 2023, Duluth, Minnesota, USA to Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Viking Polaris.

 

We've only been on river cruises and booked this thinking it'd be very much the same.

 

Since the cruise is on the Great Lakes which are fresh water it's not an ocean cruise, but neither is it travelling on a river;  however the Odesa to Kyiv* cruise which started on and cruised partly  though the Black Sea was classed as a river cruise, so I'm a bit confused.

 

The cruise is in the Expeditions brochure but we're not doing anything as adventurous as going to the Arctic or Antarctic, or sailing down the  coast of South America.

 

Shouldn't there be a separate 'Great Lakes' thread?

 

* we did this in July 2019 and enjoyed it very much. Goodness knows when such a cruise will be available again.....

[mtnestr2011]

For those who’ve been on the Great Lakes trips, is Viking offering tenders/shuttles to and from a walkable section of town or just to and from excursions? Is it possible to stay in town following an excursion and catch a later shuttle back to the ship?

[Love To Traveling]

We are booked on the June 18th Octantis sailing from Milwaukee. We have not been on an expedition cruise before. Any tips for newbies? Anything special that we should consider packing? Thanks for any information. 4 of us traveling in 2 Nordic balcony cabins. 

[RD64]

Yesterday in Sault Ste. Marie, and today in Thunder Bay…

[Donaghadee]

Duluth Harbor live cams.  Looks like typical Duluth weather.

 

 

https://www.duluthharborcam.com/p/blog-page_13.html

[talltexan]

On 5/27/2022 at 7:29 PM, mtnestr2011 said:

For those who’ve been on the Great Lakes trips, is Viking offering tenders/shuttles to and from a walkable section of town or just to and from excursions? Is it possible to stay in town following an excursion and catch a later shuttle back to the ship?

There are shuttles traveling from the docks in Milwaukee and Detroit to somewhere in the cities (and back) but since these are large cities, it's questionable whether your excursion will pass where the shuttle drop/pickup point is. Guest services on board will be able to tell you the address for the shuttle point. I'm pretty sure an Uber or Lyft can get you to the shuttle, it just depends on whether you're willing to pay for what could be a long ride.

[mtnestr2011]

8 hours ago, talltexan said:

There are shuttles traveling from the docks in Milwaukee and Detroit 

Talltexan, thank you for the answer. 

[CTLeeA]

On 5/27/2022 at 5:44 PM, Love To Traveling said:

We are booked on the June 18th Octantis sailing from Milwaukee. We have not been on an expedition cruise before. Any tips for newbies? Anything special that we should consider packing? Thanks for any information. 4 of us traveling in 2 Nordic balcony cabins. 

My suggestion is that you watch carefully for updates from Viking.  We're boarding the Octantis in 4 days.  We were to go to the pier to embark, then V. changed it to the airport to check in and get tested, then today, they changed it again and told is to go to the pier directly.

[pontac]

On 5/28/2022 at 1:44 AM, Love To Traveling said:

We are booked on the June 18th Octantis

 

If you could post a photo of the winelist I would be grateful as we only drink wine and are considering buying the Silver Spirits package for our Great Lakes cruise next year.

[eylarson]

11 hours ago, pontac said:

 

If you could post a photo of the winelist I would be grateful as we only drink wine and are considering buying the Silver Spirits package for our Great Lakes cruise next year.

We were on from Antarctica to Milwaukee, 61 days in all.  The list changed 3 times, although after so long on board the waiters could always "find" us a bottle of something off of an earlier list.   

Wine 1.pdf Wine 2.pdf Wine 3.pdf

[May B]

4 hours ago, eylarson said:

We were on from Antarctica to Milwaukee, 61 days in all.  The list changed 3 times, although after so long on board the waiters could always "find" us a bottle of something off of an earlier list.   

Wine 1.pdf 405.93 kB · 3 downloads Wine 2.pdf 113.52 kB · 2 downloads Wine 3.pdf 428.61 kB · 3 downloads

Thanks for posting this! My first choice is always a zin. It appears on all three lists! Plus there’s something a tad snazzy about saying, I’d like Francis Ford Coppola, please.

[pontac]

15 hours ago, eylarson said:

We were on from Antarctica to Milwaukee

 

Thank you; but I wonder if the Great Lakes will be the same.

 

On the three lists you kindly posted, of the white wines only three are included in Silver Spirits and they are all Argentinian, which would be appropriate for a cruise from Antarctica.

 

In Wine List 1 not a single white is included.

 

There is a remarkable consistency in pricing of the Silver Spirits wines - they are all $25

 

On a US to Canada cruise I would hope for more US wines and  Canadian wines.

[eylarson]

8 hours ago, pontac said:

 

Thank you; but I wonder if the Great Lakes will be the same.

 

On the three lists you kindly posted, of the white wines only three are included in Silver Spirits and they are all Argentinian, which would be appropriate for a cruise from Antarctica.

 

In Wine List 1 not a single white is included.

 

There is a remarkable consistency in pricing of the Silver Spirits wines - they are all $25

 

On a US to Canada cruise I would hope for more US wines and  Canadian wines.

I do not recall being offered any Canadian or Upstate New York wines.  During the Niagara Falls tour there was an opportunity to buy them during the free time.  You can always bring spirits or beer back on board and we did several times.  Sommelier was always pleased to serve and held what ever we didn't drink until our next lunch or dinner.   

[zonahiker]

Hi all - great information here. Hoping the Polaris Dec. 16th goes off without a hitch!

 

Curious does anyone have any prices on the optional excursions in the various stops in Antarctica? Even a range or a good guess? We are just about to purchase this and wanted a clearer picture of what the actual cost will be. 

 

It also seems that even with Viking Air choosing to do a DIY post excursion in Buenos Aires (+ Igauzu Falls)  could be worrisome ( cancelling of the cruise outright and flights out of BA vs where the charter takes you). Add to that it is over NYE and cancellation policies get complicated.  Has anyone done a post excursion on their own after the expedition and if so how did it work out? 

 

Thanks!

[eylarson]

Curious does anyone have any prices on the optional excursions in the various stops in Antarctica? Even a range or a good guess? We are just about to purchase this and wanted a clearer picture of what the actual cost will be. 

Unless there is a change in policy there are NO optional tours in Antarctica.  Everyone has an opportunity to do all, weather allowing.  

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

I've tried to follow as much of this thread as I could, but please excuse me if I have missed this information.  

 

Please don't stone me....I know there are STRONG feelings on this, just wondering! 

 

It seems like there is a more relaxed setting on Octantis and I'm wondering about men in nice black jeans at dinner rather than dress slacks, (with a nice shirt of course)  or are they consistent with other ship dress standards.  

[Heidi13]

OMG!!! not again. Here is the FAQ from the Expeditions Cruises

 

During the day, dress is casual—slacks or jeans and comfortable shoes/boots that are appropriate for excursions/landing or enjoying the ship. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for the Fitness Center and pool areas. There are no “formal nights” in the evening; evening dress is “elegant casual” for all dining venues, performances and special events. On these occasions, required attire for ladies includes a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. A tie and jacket are optional; jeans are not permitted. The evening dress excludes the World Café, where the dress remains casual, including jeans and boots, after 6:00 PM.

 

The Viking "Rig of the Day" is self-explanatory. If you don't wish to dress appropriately for dinner, you can go to the World Cafe.

 

Otherwise, Carnival & NCL, etc will happily accept your custom.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

OMG!!! not again. Here is the FAQ from the Expeditions Cruises

 

During the day, dress is casual—slacks or jeans and comfortable shoes/boots that are appropriate for excursions/landing or enjoying the ship. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for the Fitness Center and pool areas. There are no “formal nights” in the evening; evening dress is “elegant casual” for all dining venues, performances and special events. On these occasions, required attire for ladies includes a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. A tie and jacket are optional; jeans are not permitted. The evening dress excludes the World Café, where the dress remains casual, including jeans and boots, after 6:00 PM.

 

The Viking "Rig of the Day" is self-explanatory. If you don't wish to dress appropriately for dinner, you can go to the World Cafe.

 

Otherwise, Carnival & NCL, etc will happily accept your custom.

The reason I said please don't stone me is because I was simply asking IF anyone was seeing anything different on Octantis, not to get a reaction or flames back.  We are devoted Viking ocean cruisers and not ones that wear robes to World Cafe, or shorts to a restaurant. I see your post frequently and enjoy reading them...but please know some people ask for specific reasons due to medical conditions and feel bad when it's assumed we cannot read or are stupid.  

[Heidi13]

14 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

The reason I said please don't stone me is because I was simply asking IF anyone was seeing anything different on Octantis, not to get a reaction or flames back.  We are devoted Viking ocean cruisers and not ones that wear robes to World Cafe, or shorts to a restaurant. I see your post frequently and enjoy reading them...but please know some people ask for specific reasons due to medical conditions and feel bad when it's assumed we cannot read or are stupid.  

 

I'm at a loss as to why you find a need to ask the question. The Viking "Rig of the Day" standard, for the Expedition ships, is very succinct - "Jeans are not permitted".

 

Personally, I couldn't care less what people wear to dinner, but having worked in the industry, I do know that published standards/policies must be upheld, unforeseen circumstances excepted. If jeans are being accepted, in contravention of the policy, Viking need to address the performance of the Restaurant Manager and GM. They have a process where they can submit changes to policies/standards, but they do not have any discretion on which ones they comply with.

 

Therefore, to ensure their employment prospects, I can only hope the Restaurant Manager and GM are diligent in managing the Viking standard.

 

 

[Frenchberet]

6 hours ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

The reason I said please don't stone me is because I was simply asking IF anyone was seeing anything different on Octantis, not to get a reaction or flames back.  We are devoted Viking ocean cruisers and not ones that wear robes to World Cafe, or shorts to a restaurant. I see your post frequently and enjoy reading them...but please know some people ask for specific reasons due to medical conditions and feel bad when it's assumed we cannot read or are stupid.  

 

Not trying to start anything, just curious.  Is there a medical condition that requires a person to wear jeans to dinner?

[janetcbl]

Last night at the Restaurant on Mars,  a young female passenger in front of us was asked to go back to her cabin and change from the jeans she was wearing. 

[LadyVol1]

If someone is on Octantis right now, could you please post the entire daily program for a sea day (or take screen shots if it’s only online)? Thanks in advance. 

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

11 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

 

Not trying to start anything, just curious.  Is there a medical condition that requires a person to wear jeans to dinner?

Yes.....and not just to dinner, and yes it's really hot during the summer, and yes it's a real bummer when you have to try to explain to people, which I'm not going to do in this forum.  The thing that makes me sad is when a person ask a question not being snarky, but for legitimate reasons, and this is the kind of stuff they get back.  A woman kindly answered my question on another thread....and gave me the information I needed.  I KNOW Viking well...we are devoted cruisers with Viking...I can read, I can understand....I simply wanted to know if Octantis being a different type of cruise was going to be a bit different in that regard.  

 

Just an FYI to Cruise Critic members....be kind to each other.  We're all just wanting to have a communication forum, and people will ask questions, or make comments that you don't understand...but what does it hurt really to just be kind to them. End of rant...