Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Viking Expeditions Thread

emileg

By emileg,
in Viking Ocean

 Share

Recommended Posts

Ray N.

Ray N.

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Every stateroom has 2 pairs of binoculars.

Thanks. Good to know there are two-- I was wondering about that. But somewhere I read they're only for in-room use-- Is that true? If so, I'd still need to bring our own binocs to use on excursions etc. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OneSixtyToOne "Live from...." Rare

OneSixtyToOne

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Ray N. said:

Thanks. Good to know there are two-- I was wondering about that. But somewhere I read they're only for in-room use-- Is that true? If so, I'd still need to bring our own binocs to use on excursions etc. 

No, you are encouraged to bring them with you on outings. BTW they are pretty good quality, not like the ones on Viking Ocean.

 

Edited by OneSixtyToOne
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Insanityx4

Insanityx4

Posted
Posted (edited)

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

Edited by Insanityx4
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ray N.

Ray N.

Posted
Posted
25 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

No, you are encouraged to bring them with you on outings. BTW they are pretty good quality, not like the ones on Viking Ocean.

 

 

25 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

No, you are encouraged to bring them with you on outings. BTW they are pretty good quality, not like the ones on Viking Ocean.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ray N.

Ray N.

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

No, you are encouraged to bring them with you on outings. BTW they are pretty good quality, not like the ones on Viking Ocean.

 

Another thread said they're  Meopta 8x42, which apparently go for over 300 bucks. Better, albeit heavier, than my own Vanguard 8x25.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
1985rz1 Holiday Sharing Rare

1985rz1

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Oct 2023 - 2 pair

 

There should be 2 pair in each room. 

Only one pair on our Canadian Discovery cruise last year and only one pair on the Chilean Fjords cruise we just got off of last week.  We were in a Penthouse.

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

OneSixtyToOne

Posted
Posted (edited)
53 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Only one pair on our Canadian Discovery cruise last year and only one pair on the Chilean Fjords cruise we just got off of last week.  We were in a Penthouse.

Don’t know what to tell you. We were just on the Octantis in a DN1 and there were two pairs. Maybe pax are taking them home? Maybe you need to request another pair (we didn’t) but a previous pax in our stateroom did?

Edited by OneSixtyToOne
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ewenwash

ewenwash

Posted
Posted

We just finished the Chilean Fjords expedition from Valparaiso to Ushuaia on Polaris on November 10.  Responses to a few questions posted over the last couple of weeks:

 

We had 2 pair of the high quality Me-Opta binoculars each with a large flotation strap.  Excellent quality and took them on most on-water activities.

 

A couple people had not brought a waterproof jacket and were able to borrow one from the ship.  For the weather we had (40's to low 50's) a base layer, puffer jacket and waterproof outer was fine, even on the water where it was often windy.  Long underwear and Viking waterproof pants were sufficient.  The boots are well insulated and I went back to light everyday type socks from heavy hiking socks after the first use.  This is from a person who lived in Minnesota for 50 years, so YMMV.  And, Antarctica will likely be colder but you will get more stuff from the ship.  

 

The transfer from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires went like this: our bus left the ship at 8:30 or so (meeting time 8:15) and took us to a bar/restaurant near the port that had food (pastries, ham and cheese sandwich, etc), coffee and juice.  A light eater could have skipped breakfast on the ship.  We were told to be back at 10:45 to go to the airport for our 1:00PM flight (there was also a 11:00 flight, we did not notice their schedule).  Carry-on luggage was stored in a room off the restaurant with someone watching it.  We walked for an hour or so, returned for a snack and went to the bus at 10:45.  This was a different bus than the one that brought us from the ship.  Thus, we had to take all our stuff off the first bus.  Short trip to the airport, with boarding passes handed out on the bus by the guide.  We skipped check-in and seemed to go to an extra security line where we were the only "customers".  Some people from other buses reported a long wait for boarding passes at the check in.  We had only carryon but we did not hear of any issues with checking luggage.  The flight was a charter by FlyBondi, a low-cost Argentinian airline.  We may have had only 30 people on the flight.  We got a choice of premade sandwiches, bag of chips, cookie and water, coffee, etc.  The flight was fine.  At BA we deplaned to buses (in the rain) and were taken to the terminal.  Mobility challenged people had trouble boarding the bus.  At the terminal we were met by a flock of Viking people and separated by connecting airline (Delta, United, American).  AFAIK, American check in was open (kiosk) and after check in, they were sent on their way to the gate.  Delta and United people were taken to a Hard Rock cafe at the far end of the terminal (it is big) where there was a reserved section where we were fed again (2 empanadas, steak potatoes and salad, ice cream).  Three Viking people oversaw this.  Viking apparently feels that keeping them fed keeps them passive.  This was about 5:00PM with US flights leaving about 10:00.  When the checkout counters opened, we were led down to them, collected the luggage that had been brought to the check-in area and checked in.  With only carry-on, we had checked in on-line at the Hard Rock and headed for the gate.  There was a 45 min line to go through immigration to exit Argentina.  After that, it was standard airport.  None of the above was explained prior to leaving the ship, we just followed the guides who were very good, telling us what the next step would be.  No one mentioned all the food.  

 

Antarctica transfers may be different as there are likely more people to transfer.  A goodly number of people on our trip were continuing on to Antarctica.  

  

  • Thanks 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
OneSixtyToOne "Live from...." Rare

OneSixtyToOne

Posted
Posted
43 minutes ago, ewenwash said:

We were told to be back at 10:45 to go to the airport for our 1:00PM flight (there was also a 11:00 flight, we did not notice their schedule)

We were on the 11:00 AM flight. We were the last group to leave the ship and went straight to the airport. We were on the Buenos Aires extension and upon landing were taken straight to the hotel where we checked-in around 2:30 PM. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HHI Cruiser1

HHI Cruiser1

Posted
Posted
On 11/13/2023 at 11:44 AM, ewenwash said:

At the terminal we were met by a flock of Viking people and separated by connecting airline (Delta, United, American).  AFAIK, American check in was open (kiosk) and after check in, they were sent on their way to the gate.  Delta and United people were taken to a Hard Rock cafe at the far end of the terminal (it is big) where there was a reserved section where we were fed again (2 empanadas, steak potatoes and salad, ice cream).

  

Today once we got to EZE airport, passengers were separated into 2 groups - Delta/United flights and American flights.  Delta/United group got to store their luggage (watched by local tour contractor used by Viking), walked to Hard Rock Cafe, and got a meal with drinks.  American group got walked to closed ticketing counter and told to wait for hours to check-in on your own - no food, no drink,  no luggage storage, few seats,  just a person in a red shirt pointing at the closed ticketing counters.  What a significant difference in how Viking treated us after this cruise.  Shame on Viking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HHI Cruiser1

HHI Cruiser1

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, WAVTAM said:

 On Polaris Dec 15th. If one brings self-stamped post cards, cam one mail back to themselves at post office stop.

Port Lockroy is British Post Office stop; however, Viking's ships are too large to allow landings at Port Lockroy (we were just there and couldn't land, only water activities).  Port Lockroy people did come onboard and each passenger got one self stamped post card (which will to transferred to Port Lockroy sometime during a future visit by Viking).  If possible, British Air Mail stamps should work if you want to send more post cards.  Maybe on future Port Lockroy visits, people from Port Lockroy will bring additional post cards and other stuff to sale (as they indicated they normally do, but didn't on our cruise).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CharTrav

CharTrav

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, maren91 said:

Hi All- Huge thread and tried to go through it but I apologize if I missed this. Looking at Viking Polaris and wondering if they allow for a polar plunge and if they have any sort of arctic crossing ceremony? Thanks!

Going by our recent experience on the Sky doing into the midnight Sun there indeed is a blue nose ceremony. Can’t imagine that this would not also be done on the Polaris.  This is my husband earning his blue nose last Summer. They filled the hot tub with many bags of ice. 

 

image.thumb.jpeg.7ea5f6de45a250d02ad3777c6aac29db.jpeg

 

Tried to post other pix but file sizes too big when posted from mobile phone. Might have had better  luck from my workstation.  

 

🙄

Edited by CharTrav
  • Haha 1
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
      • 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...