mariners

For those who have not sailed on VO before, spend time the first night figuring out which switch works for turning on and off lights in each area before you need to use them during the night. Great options once one learns how to use them as we learned on our first VO cruise). For anyone who "overpacks", take hangers that allow multiple pants, skirts, etc. on the same hanger (additional regular hangers can be requested but there is only so much room in a closet). As suggested by many others on this board, use your suitcase(s) under the bed as additional drawer space for items that are not regularly needed. If you take "sticky notes" with you, you can leave them in the cabin/suite and let the individual(s) know what you would like. If you want something kept the same, or something changed; this worked well for us. If you are having issues with your cabin onboard, other passengers who have sailed on VO before are are a great source of information. Unless it is an urgent situation, those passengers are often the best resource, and also provide the most relevant assistance. I am giving a shout out to previous cruisers who provided me with information before our cruise who post on this board, and also to those individuals who are providing information on "live" threads. VO is a wonderful CC board (and also an onboard experience)!

We have well over 100 nights on Windstar (the most recent 2022), but all of our sailings have taken place on the ships with sails. We have sailed on the other ships when they were with Seabourn and do not have any recent experiences onboard those ships. We have only had one sailing on Viking Ocean, and that took place in late 2023. Here is a link to my review of our 2017 Transatlantic. I think it continues to give a good overview of what to expect if you are planning an ocean crossing on Windstar, as well as an overview of the typical cabins onboard: https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599880 Please note, despite how much I wish that it was true, I was not in my 20's. I have no idea how that age demographic was given to me on the review. Here is a link to the thread where I described our cruise in 2022: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2890521-live-from-wind-star-october-29-barcelona-to-bridgetown/ I wrote a live thread when we were on the Neptune crossing in December, but the thread is not showing when I try and find a link for it so that you can read what I wrote about the sailing. It was also a fabulous cruise, and we are happy to be sailing with Viking Oceans again this year. Hopefully you, or someone else, can post a link. We did not book air through the cruise lines so I cannot comment on air. We paid for our Windstar tours and felt they were well worth the money spent. Given the number of passengers, the tours are small and the guides were all excellent. The destinations person onboard was fabulous as were the maps and information provided. One is not allowed to bring unlimited alcohol onboard Windstar, but there is an option to book the cruise to include alcohol, wifi (terrible), and other amenities. We loved having the included laundry. If you have any specific questions, I will try and provide you with answers. We will happily sail with either Viking Oceans or Windstar.

I'm glad that Viking doesn't allow all tables in the reserved restaurants to be booked ahead of time. Other cruise lines, including luxury cruise lines, take the same approach, and allow for passengers to book onboard. IMO, it gives more options, not less options, for passengers, and there is little benefit for Viking Oceans to take the approach (other than, perhaps, to add an enhancement to entice passengers to book higher level cabins/suites). Thanks to reading CC and learning what other passengers have stated works for them, we find this restaurant booking system, and excursion booking system, works well for us. I'm glad that Viking has updated information on their website as not all people follow CC and would think there would be no opportunity to book onboard.

CDNPolar, your response, which is not the same as my response, is one of the reasons that CC is such a big help to other passengers. Passengers/posters can choose what works best for them. We never use WhatsApp so that would not be an option for us. The friends we sail with on most sailings have been our friends for over 30 years+. In fact, the couple we are sailing with on our next Viking Ocean Cruise have been our friends for almost 50 years. We would not hesitate to give them our cabin number, or have them knock on our cabin door (no sign, of course). When we sail with family, it is all about spending time sharing experiences with the family. We respect the privacy that any family member chooses at any time, and that's why a sign on the door, "please do not disturb", works well for us. I understand why our approach would not work well for other people. I have shared your post to give a different perspective on group travel to friends and acquaintances we know who sail with others.

We have sailed many times with friends and family. Over the years, I have learned what works best for me (which means it also works best for my DH 🤣). We frequently choose where, when, and times to meet: before shore excursions we are taking together; pre-dinner cocktails; Bloody Mary, English Mary, Mexican Mary times; special events; etc. We also choose times where only one of us will meet with someone else: yoga, walking the deck, card games, etc. We agree that if there is a "do not disturb" sign on a door that includes friends and family unless it is an emergency. We agree that any of us can choose to dine on our own, or not join others, but will always try to give a "heads up" so that other people can make different plans if they choose. We always choose one night just for the two of us. If one of us is ill, we make sure that we let others know. As well, we choose to self isolate if one or both of us is ill until we/unless we know it is not an issue. We share photographs and take "sticks" with us as it has been the easiest way for us to share the photos while we are onboard rather than trying to do it once we are home. Wishing you a fabulous cruise and wonderful memories.

CCWineLover, did I miss seeing this station on our December trans-Atlantic on the Neptune, or was it closed? If so, is it only open for certain cruises? Thanks!

There appear to be many types of exercise fins including so I think the answer to your question would also depend upon the size of the fins. On our December TA, I saw individuals who exercised in the pool including a person who used pool weights, but they were ensuring they did not interfere with others in the pool. There was also an individual who had a mermaid tail who used the pool, but there were no other people in the pool when I saw her using the tail. I never heard any negative comments about her using the pool. (Of course, that doesn't mean that there were not people who did not make the comments 😀.)

Fabulous photos and information posted on this thread. I will miss reading updates from those of you who will be leaving the cruise, but understand why you have made the decision. It must have been a tough choice, and one I am glad that I did not have to make. For those of you who are staying onboard, I hope that you will continue to post when you have the time. It's wonderful to dream of our future cruises, and plan what and how we would want to do things based on information and photos that allow us to sail vicariously with you. Your time and dedication to updating this thread is much appreciated.

Thank you to all of the posters who have allowed us to sail vicariously with you on this ever changing World Cruise. Because of Clay Clayton's posts before he signed on for the cruise, we were very close to booking the sailing. Unfortunately, we couldn't get everything in order in time to be on the sailing, but those of you who are there have done an excellent job making us aware of how flexible we will need to be as we plan for possible future World Cruises. For those passengers who are choosing to go home soon, safe travels. For those passengers who will continue with the journey, please keep on posting. The photos and videos are great! The information that you are providing is priceless!

sk99, I have no knowledge of any noise in 6028 as we have only sailed on one Viking Ocean cruise. We were on the Neptune in cabin 6096 and, for us, that location is one we would not choose for future cruises. We booked the cabin as a guarantee, and now realize that is not a great option for us. I hope that someone who has stayed in the area of 6028 will provide you with information.

Fabulous photos, and loving following along. I am finding it a bit difficult to figure out who is on each ship for the World Cruise as it appears to be one big World Cruise party albeit with a few differences in itinerary and dining. Thanks so much for taking the time to post.

Fabulous photos, and loving following along. I am finding it a bit difficult to figure out who is on each ship for the World Cruise as it appears to be one big World Cruise party albeit with a few differences in itinerary and dining. Thanks so much for taking the time to post.

cruisin7, I love the photos and write-ups you are including on this thread. Even though I don't watch football, I would have attended that even just for the spread Regent put out 😀.

The "Kids Sail Free" marketing has been used since 2006 (could be even earlier). While on the Mariner in 2005, we booked a cruise to Alaska for our multi-generational family for June 2006. When we booked the cruise, children did not sail free. However, some time in late 2005 or early 2006, Regent (RSSC) offered the "Kids Sail Free", and our grandchildren sailed "free". This marketing took place after many passengers had already booked the cruise, and some of them were horrified at the thought of having children onboard. They made their negative feelings about children being onboard very clear during the sailing. My response then, and since that time, has always been that we are responsible for our own behaviour, and for those people under our care (children, adults who require assistance, etc.), and to follow the rules of each cruise line and/or specific ship. RSSC was a perfect fit for us to sail with our family, and we have photos and memories that will last a lifetime. Windstar and Sea Dream, both lines we cruised during those years, and after, would not have worked at all. They still would not be a good fit for anyone but my DH and me. Other posters have given information about cruise lines that do not allow children. We sailed Viking Ocean for the first time last fall and loved our sailing. If having no children onboard is one of the most important criteria to you, take a look at the videos, website, board, etc. as Viking Ocean just might be a better fit for what you are looking for in a cruise.

We sailed with family and friends in November/December. Two of the people had pre-existing conditions, after they had booked the cruise but before the sailing, that required them to purchase individualized insurance policies. One of the individuals received a "final" diagnosis a month before the sailing and was able to purchase a separate policy that covered medical as he had been "stable" for the required period of time. The policy was expensive but not nearly as expensive as losing the trip or having a medical issue that meant that he had to pay out of pocket for medical care. Pre-existing is open to interpretation by travel insurance companies. A few years back, my DH was diagnosed (just a few days before we were to sail) with a "congenital" condition that required emergency surgery. Despite the fact that he had received multiple tests and a variety of diagnoses (none that would preclude him from travelling and no treatment was suggested or offered), our insurance refused the claim based on it being a "congenital" condition; hence pre-existing which made the insurance we had purchased void. Lesson learned! How I wish that CSA that used to provide insurance to Canadians was still permitted to sell their policies in Canada! We always bought the insurance, despite having coverage through work/credit cards/etc., as we knew they provided, at that time, excellent coverage. We also used the services of a US insurance broker (?) who explained everything in detail to us and gave us different options. Now, we have to rely on Canadian insurance companies for travel and choose to book our trips/cruises differently. We try and book all of our oversea flights through Aeroplan where getting points reinstated is, typically, not an issue. (The issue is finding future flights through Aeroplan that work for us given their change to dynamic pricing.). If we don't book through Aeroplan, we check out different options that will allow us flexibility. For example, we might book business to a "hub" overseas through points or for less money than booking the whole flight using cash. We then pay for the ongoing portion of the flight knowing that we might lose that money. We have booked our future cruises through cruise lines based on their cancellation policies rather than "non-refundable" cruise fares that appear to be a better bargain (still based on the ships and itineraries that we want to sail). We book our accommodations based on the cancellation policy in effect at the time of booking the accommodations through the hotel or other booking sites used. We check all of the cancellation fees we might have to pay against what we might get refunded for using a cancel for any reason policy. Everyone has to figure out what works best for him/her/them. Note: I'm not an insurance agent, have no background in insurance, and cannot provide you with answers other than what my experience has been with travel insurance. Wishing you wonderful travels and a positive outcome to any health issues.