OneSixtyToOne

The waitstaff serves you when you sit down. They are generous with the refill and people have been known to refill and then take their glass with them to other parts of the ship. If you have the SSP you are given a different glass so the staff knows what to refill.

Welcome to the Viking Ocean board where general questions and comments are posted. There is a separate area for roll calls for specific sailings. For better results and to reach people on your cruise, this request should be posted in the roll call for your sailing which you can find here:

Nordic Balconies are great!

No, unfortunately.

We were on the Santiago to Ushuaia leg last October and there were only 40 pax on the World Cruise. It not real high demand so any discounts you see will probably be going on for at least several months. Booking onboard your next cruise might give you the biggest incentive unless something else pops up first. Be aware of any current promo codes before you sail in July. The tour consultant might be unaware of all that is available. If you provide the code they can compare it with other available discounts. Since the World Cruise has a limited customer base, the legs of the cruise are heavily discounted from time to time. We got ours at about a 40% discount with free stateroom upgrade, free beverage package and free air included. It was a deal we couldn’t pass up. We booked about 10 months out. This is basically a repositioning cruise from the Arctic to the Austral summer. The main draw is the Antarctic leg, which may fill up by being sold as a separate sailing. Here is my writeup of our leg of the trip: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2968838-almost-live-viking-octantis-chilean-fjords-patagonia-explorer-october-17-30-2023/

Viking River’s Paris to Switzerland itinerary is now offering two new extensions that feature rail journeys. That now makes 3 Swiss rail extensions. It appears they are already moving in the direction of more land base options to feed into their various cruise itineraries.

This one in Buenos Aires? It’s right down the street from the hotel we stayed at on the Viking extension.

Yes, both port and starboard sides. Also the far port and starboard elevators are the only ones going to deck 6. There are also two out of the way elevators, one fore and aft. Fore is by the Explorer’s Lounge and will take you to The Hide. Aft will take you to the back of the World Cafe and down to the theater. i love this ship. Walking around is like an expedition in itself.

Also the area between 4024/4026 and opposite is a quite little sitting area.

It is an opening to the stairwells, no wall there. We stayed on Deck 4 aft. Often I would exit the elevator, go straight into this area then veer into the hallway through the opening. I would do the opposite going to the elevator or staircase. On the deck plan diagram, if you erase the thin black line in front of 4028/4029, that is what the floor plan really looks like.

During the summer they project a fantastic multimedia light show on Rouen Cathedral. We stumbled upon it one night when docked there. Video in link: https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/highlight/rouen-cathedral-light-show/

We only had 8 people on the tour and 2 were crew members who tagged along. The cemetery and wreath laying was moving.

FYI Gold Beach is off the beaten track. Viking currently does excursions to Omaha Beach and Juno Beach (Viking River, not sure about VO) Omaha is the overwhelming choice for American pax. Juno Beach is part of the Commonwealth excursion. There is a visitor center there staffed by Canadian college students (the same age as those who died there). It also visits the Pegasus Bridge which was featured in the movie The Longest Day. The museum also has full scale replicas of the gliders used in the assault. The first Allied casualty of D-Day occurred here. Viewing the Bayeux Tapestry is also a stop on the excursion. Since most pax are Americans who want to go to Omaha, this excursion has very few participants. I highly recommend it. Actual post D-Day photo of the crashed gliders and the critical bridge. They dropped in on the German soldiers and took the bridge in minutes, then held it through counter assaults until relieved many hours later.

Don’t overpack. The self-service laundry is completely. Dress in layers and take a good raincoat or weatherproof jacket. Depending on itinerary, the wind may be brutal. A scarf or neck gator is advised. If raining, even with a hooded jacket, a hat with a brim will help keep the rain off your face A warm sweater is helpful. The Star Theater cranks up the A/C to cool it down for performances. It’s always freezing in there.

There are umbrellas provided in the cabin and also at the gangplank when raining. However they are VERY large. I pack a travel umbrella. I was given a Davek for my birthday. By far the best umbrella I’ve ever used. One button open and close, made to get in and out of cabs. It’s also wind proof. Lifetime guarantee. 50% off replacement if lost or stolen. As a bonus, it has a very NYC feature, a heavy metal knob on the end that can be used to beat a mugger. https://davekny.com