Live from the Viking Star World Cruise 2021-22

[bobitegirl]

6 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

That is the only place i noticed it - especially when it was empty and quiet.

 

6 hours ago, ldpetrillo said:

The fake music is especially annoying in the Explorers Lounge during the day. A lot of people go there to read and watch the ocean. However, other areas of the ship are quiet. 

Yes! On the Orion and just moved from Winter Garden to Explorers since they were setting up for tea. In a comfortable corner with our books and wondering why they must play music!

[Speedo51]

Trying to reply to Connie Gi's earlier message:  

 

Susan and I hoping that you and Rogan are having a great cruise.  Please post often on your observations; we're living vicariously through them until our turn at WC2023.  

[GKTV32162]

World Cruise day 14/152 - another sea day - great service and more boobies

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/01/world-cruise-day-14152-last-sea-day.html

[GKTV32162]

World Cruise day 14/152 - another sea day - great service and more boobies

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/01/world-cruise-day-14152-last-sea-day.html

[ptcflyer]

An E-mail was sent out a few minutes ago announcing a conference call for Sunday a.m.   Few other details given.     They will be going over cruise itinerary changes with us and answer question.

 

Ahead of your travels, our Viking leadership team would like to update you on your upcoming World Cruise.

The World Horizons cruise will embark in Los Angeles as planned on Monday, January 10, 2022. However, there will be itinerary changes in response to the evolving global travel environment. 

To ensure you have the most up to date information and to provide you with the opportunity to have your questions answered by Viking's team, we will host an online webinar for all our World Cruise guests on Sunday, January 9 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time/1:00 PM Eastern Time. 

We are currently working through the logistics of the meeting and will provide you with links and access credentials by 12:00 PM PT/3:00 PM ET tomorrow, January 8.  

---------------------------------------------------------------------

My speculation only:     I suspect significant changes to the World Cruise as we know it.    Viking Planners are probably scrambling with:   What do we do with a fully crewed Viking Star between January 10 and May 11?       Parameters:         Start Point:   Los Angeles CA...   End Point..  Bergen Norway.   Criteria:  Avoid Australia, and all of Asia due to Covid uncertainties.   Has to stay in Warm Weather Ports.    We need to be able to restock and refuel at predictable intervals and costs.     Full Cancellation is not an option.     Have to entice World Cruisers to stay with the program.....to keep as much revenue as possible.  Our cruise has changed from maximizing profits to minimizing losses.    Can imagine the whiteboards, maps, conference calls and calculators are being exercised like crazy at Viking HQ.            Suspect:   Tahiti experience following Orion + Caribbean + South America + Trans Atlantic + Med destinations put together.         May we all live in interesting times.    

Edited January 7, 2022 by ptcflyer

[Twitchly]

1 hour ago, ptcflyer said:

An E-mail was sent out a few minutes ago announcing a conference call for Sunday a.m.   Few other details given.     They will be going over cruise itinerary changes with us and answer question.

 

Ahead of your travels, our Viking leadership team would like to update you on your upcoming World Cruise.

The World Horizons cruise will embark in Los Angeles as planned on Monday, January 10, 2022. However, there will be itinerary changes in response to the evolving global travel environment. 

To ensure you have the most up to date information and to provide you with the opportunity to have your questions answered by Viking's team, we will host an online webinar for all our World Cruise guests on Sunday, January 9 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time/1:00 PM Eastern Time. 

We are currently working through the logistics of the meeting and will provide you with links and access credentials by 12:00 PM PT/3:00 PM ET tomorrow, January 8.  

---------------------------------------------------------------------

My speculation only:     I suspect significant changes to the World Cruise as we know it.    Viking Planners are probably scrambling with:   What do we do with a fully crewed Viking Star between January 10 and May 11?       Parameters:         Start Point:   Los Angeles CA...   End Point..  Bergen Norway.   Criteria:  Avoid Australia, and all of Asia due to Covid uncertainties.   Has to stay in Warm Weather Ports.    We need to be able to restock and refuel at predictable intervals and costs.     Full Cancellation is not an option.     Have to entice World Cruisers to stay with the program.....to keep as much revenue as possible.  Our cruise has changed from maximizing profits to minimizing losses.    Can imagine the whiteboards, maps, conference calls and calculators are being exercised like crazy at Viking HQ.            Suspect:   Tahiti experience following Orion + Caribbean + South America + Trans Atlantic + Med destinations put together.         May we all live in interesting times.    

Good for Viking! Glad to see they’re trying to be more commutative.

[ldpetrillo]

The Oceania Insignia just changed their itinerary. They cancelled San Francisco and are in San Diego for two days. They then go to Hawaii and on to French Polynesia. Maybe Hawaii is back on for us. 

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, ptcflyer said:

An E-mail was sent out a few minutes ago announcing a conference call for Sunday a.m.   Few other details given.     They will be going over cruise itinerary changes with us and answer question.

 

!!!

 

Thanks for sharing.  My opinion is that video conference calls on a cruise are too much like work.  I wonder why they don't hold a meeting in the main... oh yeah, THAT.

[JM0115]

Maybe this is posted above and I missed it.  The flyer we got in our cabins this afternoon says that we will meet in the Star Theatre at 10am on Sunday.  World Horizons from LA will leave as planned.  "It is anticipated that we will rejoin the current scheduled itinerary from March 29 Jeddah continuing to London and Bergen as planned.".  Therefore we will find out on Sunday where we go from Los Angeles until we get to Jeddah on March 29th!  Where we go, only Viking knows!

[vslparis]

46 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

Maybe this is posted above and I missed it.  The flyer we got in our cabins this afternoon says that we will meet in the Star Theatre at 10am on Sunday.  World Horizons from LA will leave as planned.  "It is anticipated that we will rejoin the current scheduled itinerary from March 29 Jeddah continuing to London and Bergen as planned.".  Therefore we will find out on Sunday where we go from Los Angeles until we get to Jeddah on March 29th!  Where we go, only Viking knows!

Interesting that my email does not mention rejoining the original itinerary in Jeddah . I am OK with that( I think 😉) . We have our Covid tes5 tomorrow morning and then I changed our DFW TO LA flight to after the webinar just to make sure  , but this sounds good to me.

[GKTV32162]

World Cruise Day 15/152 - Cabo San Lucas - a Miracle and a whale of a good day

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/01/world-cruise-day-15152-were-in-cabo-and.html

[KTRaveller]

On 1/5/2022 at 8:26 AM, OnTheJourney said:

So are we!  A few more  (sorry, I probably shouldn't be doing this...)  The amazing thing was that, with all the damage done inside the ship, they got her ready to go back out like a week after it happened. Must have brought on an army of crew working 24/7. Best part was that, as things started to really get bad at lunch on Saturday 3/23, the ship's guitar player was doing "My Heart will go on".....lol....I was thinking...dude...pick a different song, ya know? 

 

One of my favorite shots is from the helicopter cams overlooking the ship. We had very little with us since there was no time to go back to the room once the mayday sounded. I had my wallet and camera - that's about it. Not even a coat. It was FREEZING in the helicopter. OK...enough. Sorry again, but your report brings it all back (last pic below)

 

 

Just a lurker here -- we were on the Viking Sea a couple of weeks before the sister ship's near disaster so I was just glued to the event and so happy that most people survived unscathed, if with some PTSD. Thanks for these additional photos.  I always wanted to know/see more about it.  I've wondered since whether they have attached more furniture to the floor to avoid this kind of thing in future.  Especially for the roly poly ocean crossings, it seems like a no brainer -- and Viking has a lot of brains, IMHO.  I can see why those actually on the World Cruise might not want to see these photos at the moment, though!

[KTRaveller]

On 1/5/2022 at 3:02 PM, ldpetrillo said:

The Covid protocols are not a bother. We feel safer onboard than we would at home. The ship does not feel crowded. We have had no problem going to dinner each night without a reservation. However, the two specialty restaurants are booked each night. While we are on the WC, our calendar on the Viking Onboard App only goes up to LA. It is a little annoying as we have no access to our itinerary or shore excursions. That should change when we get to LA. 
 

Now on a serious note, the “music” they pipe through the ship is horrible. It is just incoherent music on some kind of loop. Why not play real music? You know, with a beginning and an end. 

Is the music the same music "The Traveller" that plays on a loop on Viking.TV?  I loved it at first, but it got old... I don't recall piped music at all on my one Viking Ocean cruise and my husband always notices and abhors it.  I hope that's not a change for the worse...

[OnTheJourney]

3 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

I've wondered since whether they have attached more furniture to the floor to avoid this kind of thing in future. 

No idea...that cruise was the only one we've done thus far with Viking. Really should not have been out there in those conditions, at least not with only partially-filled oil tanks. Were it not for total engine shutdown, we might have been ok. 

 

3 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

I can see why those actually on the World Cruise might not want to see these photos at the moment, though!

 I know...I probably got carried away once GKTV reported (and posted pics) about the waves they were experiencing. 

 

3 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

so happy that most people survived unscathed, if with some PTSD

DW and I definitely had some PTSD that lasted for several months. Even once we got back on a ship in October '19, it was sort of like a test to see how we'd react. It went basically ok although we did encounter two storm systems that necessitated altering the itinerary. And at one point the sound over the ship's speaker system that preceeded a routine captain's announcement took us right back to the alarms on the Sky. 

[GKTV32162]

World Cruise Day 16/152 - Time travel and flushing our troubles away

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/01/world-cruise-day-16152-time-travel-and.html

 

[DJVKN]

Yea! Our test results are back and we are negative. Our luggage forward bags are sitting here in LA ready to board the ship tomorrow. Anxious for the webinar today to see where we are going! See you all on board!!

Diana

[Redwarrior68]

A wish for safe travels (and on-time flights) for all heading to LA today and tomorrow.  Looking forward to putting faces to internet names on this forum.  Weather is fine, calm seas, and fresh gelato.  Webinar is is 90 min.

[DJVKN]

I am in my hotel room in San Pedro. Logged into Zoom and ready to go for the presentation in 9 minutes!

[Clay Clayton]

5 minutes ago, DJVKN said:

I am in my hotel room in San Pedro. Logged into Zoom and ready to go for the presentation in 9 minutes!

Please do a running commentary for all of us who are living vicariously!

[DJVKN]

14 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Please do a running commentary for all of us who are living vicariously!

We are now going East instead of West. No South Pacific, heading south back through Mexico and Central America to South America. Been there, done that. The webinar is still happening but Torstein did say we can rebook. 

 

[stretchcruz]

4 minutes ago, DJVKN said:

We are now going East instead of West. No South Pacific, heading south back through Mexico and Central America to South America. Been there, done that. The webinar is still happening but Torstein did say we can rebook. 

 

But the Jupiter can't even get to BA! And they only made 2 out of 7 ports. Wow.....

[uktog]

Unbelievable, do Viking not know what is happening to their guests in South America

[Twitchly]

12 hours ago, GKTV32162 said:

World Cruise Day 16/152 - Time travel and flushing our troubles away

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/01/world-cruise-day-16152-time-travel-and.html

 

I had a big laugh over this:

 

”This is the button that flushes the toilet.  Toilets on a cruise ship use a suction system that evacuates the bowl with a loud sucking sound.  There are stories of people that reached back and activated it while still seated on the throne and they're still stuck there and sailing today.”

[DJVKN]

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

Unbelievable, do Viking not know what is happening to their guests in South America

I just told them that via the chat feature of the Zoom meeting. I am asking them what makes this World Cruise worthy.

 

[SJD117]

Just now, uktog said:

Unbelievable, do Viking not know what is happening to their guests in South America

One couple's story is especially horrifying. They were pulled off the Jupiter in late December (12/22 sailing) and put into Chilean quarantine, in a Chilean hostel (not hotel). They aren't allowed to see each other. After 16 days, they still don't know when they'll be able to return home.