Hey Viking, how about an update on Sea?

I know launching the second ship isn't as big as launching the first, but still, we're starting to get close and those of us booked on the first sailings especially would like to hear from you. On schedule? Sea trials? Christening plans? Anything changed from the Star?

Dear cmaasfamily,

Thank you for your inquiry. We are excited to share that Viking Sea is on schedule for her maiden voyage! A video of the float out ceremony is available to view on our website here:

http://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/video/ships/index.html#video/viking-sea-float-out

We encourage you to visit our site to learn more about Viking Sea and to stay up to date with announcements and press releases. Thank you again for your interest, we are thrilled to add Viking Sea to our ocean fleet!

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

I know launching the second ship isn't as big as launching the first, but still, we're starting to get close and those of us booked on the first sailings especially would like to hear from you. On schedule? Sea trials? Christening plans? Anything changed from the Star?

The Viking Sea left the harbor at Ancona 18 hours ago. Not sure where she is headed.

Share any updates. :confused:

2016 USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2016/01/07/new-cruise-ships-2016-viking-sea/77739004/#

Sailed on the Star 2015 :)

Presently docked at the Fincantieri yards at Ancona (as of Feb 14, 2016 22:25 UTC).

The Sea can be tracked here:

www.marinetraffic.com

Or here:

www.vesselfinder.com

Her IMO/MMSI numbers are 9725421/247369200.

I'll add her to my fleet.

Wish I had some recent pics and words from Viking on requested information from 12/12/15 post on this thread.

Typical Viking.

Should be another great Viking Ocean Cruise in Aug. :)

 

The Sea can be tracked here:

www.marinetraffic.com

 

Or here:

www.vesselfinder.com

 

Still docked at the Fincantieri yards (as of Mar 4, 2016).

The Viking Sea is due to sail from Venice-Istanbul (shakedown cruise) on March 25th so I would imagine she will be heading over to Venice at some point next week. :)

I see on vessel finder that the Viking Sea has changed from Italian flag to Norwegian flag. Still docked at the shipyard, but I'll take it as a sign of progress.

The change of flag might indicate that the ship has been officially handed over from Fincantieri to Viking (and the check didn't bounce).

I see the Sea is on her way to Venice. Gee the Adriatic sure looks crowded!

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:3710157/zoom:10

CretaMed88 videoed her maiden arrival in Piraeus this morning (March 29, 2016).

The Sea and the Star are going to pass each other in a few hours on their way to/from Kusadasi. Perhaps they'll be close enough so the pax can wave at each other, take some pictures.

The Sea and the Star are going to pass each other in a few hours on their way to/from Kusadasi. Perhaps they'll be close enough so the pax can wave at each other, take some pictures.

Update - it appears the Sea and the Star will not be crossing paths this evening. The Sea's heading takes it to the north of Andros, en route to Kusadasi. The Star is going to the south of Tinos (past Mikonos), en route to Piraeus.

Does anyone know when and where she is supposed to be Christened?

May 5th, at the Greenwich Tier.

https://malcolmoliver.wordpress.com/2016/03/26/viking-sea-to-be-christened-on-the-thames/

http://vikingchristening.com/

Update - it appears the Sea and the Star will not be crossing paths this evening. The Sea's heading takes it to the north of Andros, en route to Kusadasi. The Star is going to the south of Tinos (past Mikonos), en route to Piraeus.

Actually, the Viking Sea and Viking Star were both at anchor at the same time yesterday (3/31/2016) in the caldera while visiting Santorini (Thira), Greece according to the tracking map at Vessel Tracker. I would love to see a picture of that!

Viking has hundreds of passengers keen to know if their latest/new ship will be available, yet has done nothing to tell them, passengers have to find out for themselves by going to websites like this or to the Viking website and doing a search. Viking has my email address, why not send me a note of excitement - your ship has launched, and yes you long awaited cruise is on time etc, even if we have stuffed up your shore excursions, and maybe the ship will say afloat long enough for you to join us!

Dear cmaasfamily,

 

Thank you for your inquiry. We are excited to share that Viking Sea is on schedule for her maiden voyage! A video of the float out ceremony is available to view on our website here:

 

http://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/video/ships/index.html#video/viking-sea-float-out

 

We encourage you to visit our site to learn more about Viking Sea and to stay up to date with announcements and press releases. Thank you again for your interest, we are thrilled to add Viking Sea to our ocean fleet!

 

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

Viking has hundreds of passengers keen to know if their latest/new ship will be available, yet has done nothing to tell them, passengers have to find out for themselves by going to websites like this or to the Viking website and doing a search. Viking has my email address, why not send me a note of excitement - your ship has launched, and yes you long awaited cruise is on time etc, even if we have stuffed up your shore excursions, and maybe the ship will say afloat long enough for you to join us!

The Viking Sea has sailed from Istanbul on 4/3/16 enroute on its Maiden Voyage. It is on their website under "Media Center", a partial excerpt:

Los Angeles (April 4, 2016) – Viking Ocean Cruises® ( http://www.vikingoceancruises.com ) today announced its second ship, Viking Sea, has embarked on her maiden voyage from Istanbul to Venice, officially doubling the size of the company’s fleet and continuing its vision for destination-focused cruises. From Venice, Viking Sea will sail through the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic on her way to be officially christened on May 5 on London’s Thames River in Greenwich. Following the christening, Viking Sea will spend her maiden season sailing itineraries in Scandinavia and the Baltic, as well as the Western and Eastern Mediterranean.

Traveler103, Thank you for this update and information

Viking has hundreds of passengers keen to know if their latest/new ship will be available, yet has done nothing to tell them, passengers have to find out for themselves by going to websites like this or to the Viking website and doing a search. Viking has my email address, why not send me a note of excitement - your ship has launched, and yes you long awaited cruise is on time etc, even if we have stuffed up your shore excursions, and maybe the ship will say afloat long enough for you to join us!

I got an email. And wow, you are one grumpy cuss. Another FAIL? A tad over the top.

And we're onboard Viking Sea at the moment -- cruising through to Venice. Have posted a thread on this forum -- happy to answer questions (but would appreciate it if you'd post 'em there). Thanks.

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49663448&posted=1#post49663448

cmassfamily, yes you regrettably just see the unpleasant end of my demeanour caused by a long series of mistakes made by Viking with my cruise. And it does not stop. Just this morning Viking have bumped me from another shorex without notice. The selection had been on my "Wish List" on Viking's system for weeks before bookings opened, I had priority as PV1, booked and paid in the first minutes bookings opened. Got the confirming paperwork, booking then also appeared on system in my Viking calendar. Today, my booking has disappeared. Another booking has appeared for an unrelated and complexly different shorex which was never in the list of choices before today. Last week I had to compromise and change my shorex after I was bumped on another option, the reason being the tour had been overbooked. Yet again the story this week is as above, I probably booked in the first 50 passengers of a 950 person ship, the system said available, all was good for seven weeks, then I get bumped off the choice. After a week of Viking not solving the issue, I had to compromise and move around my choices to fit in with them. I am a frequent Viking traveller, current cruise is PV1 which gets near top priority for shorex bookings, I booked cruise in 2014, used the shorex booking system as expected,and in the most timely fashion, and I get bumped week on week. Grumpy is an understatement at the moment.

Captain Hornblower.

After reading your frustration about excursions being cancelled or changed I looked at my calendar for our upcoming cruise and we were also bumped from an included tour to a new included tour. The original included tour is now a paid tour. The description of the now paying tour says it is an included tour. Go figure! Fortunately the new included tour looks more interesting than the old one. In several countries we are doing our own tours, not through Viking. Better tours, better price, or we're just going out on our own. Good luck with getting everything straightened out.

Dear Captain Hornblower,

We responded to your concerns on another thread but, at the risk of repeating ourselves, wanted to also reply to your comments here.

Please accept our apologies for any difficulties you may be experiencing with your shore excursion schedule. We are aware of the internal issue causing these unforeseen adjustments and are working hard to implement a solution.

Your feedback is appreciated and, if you wish to discuss your individual concerns further, you are welcome to contact us directly at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

Captain Hornblower, again, we apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience and understanding.

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

cmassfamily, yes you regrettably just see the unpleasant end of my demeanour caused by a long series of mistakes made by Viking with my cruise. And it does not stop. Just this morning Viking have bumped me from another shorex without notice. The selection had been on my "Wish List" on Viking's system for weeks before bookings opened, I had priority as PV1, booked and paid in the first minutes bookings opened. Got the confirming paperwork, booking then also appeared on system in my Viking calendar. Today, my booking has disappeared. Another booking has appeared for an unrelated and complexly different shorex which was never in the list of choices before today. Last week I had to compromise and change my shorex after I was bumped on another option, the reason being the tour had been overbooked. Yet again the story this week is as above, I probably booked in the first 50 passengers of a 950 person ship, the system said available, all was good for seven weeks, then I get bumped off the choice. After a week of Viking not solving the issue, I had to compromise and move around my choices to fit in with them. I am a frequent Viking traveller, current cruise is PV1 which gets near top priority for shorex bookings, I booked cruise in 2014, used the shorex booking system as expected,and in the most timely fashion, and I get bumped week on week. Grumpy is an understatement at the moment.