Heidi13

As per the previous response, you must submit the request to the Pursers ASAP. Since you embark in Whittier and would disembark at another US Port, this is a violation of the PVSA, which will incur a fine. I expect the cruise line would pass on the cost to you, plus any additional costs.

Unfortunately this is common on almost all ships, when running at full speed, the aft end is susceptible to vibration, cavitation & rumble. Provided the blades are well balanced, Azipods could have less vibration at full speed. Haven't seen an R-class in drydock, but being diesel/electric, they should have a short shaft, so the actual propeller shaft probably wasn't the source of the vibration. If any of the blades had a nick, or otherwise out of balance this can create significant vibration, especially at full speed. This would be the same on a conventional ship or azipod. If the ship was pitching in heavy weather this will result in cavitation.

Wow, you really didn't experience the Viking level of service, which is most unfortunate. The 6-Grapes wasn't available in all the bars, but they normally send an employee off to score a bottle, if not in stock at that particular bar. After a few days, each bar had a bottle of 6-Grapes with my name on it.

If starting at 11:00, you should have plenty of time to get back to Ogden Point by 13:30.

That would be my guess.

Have taken other people's kids across the border with us when our kids were young. All we had were letters from the parents authorising us to take their kids with us. Never got anything notorised.

I don't believe it is a hull fouling issue, as no way they would drydock a ship to clean the hull, unless it is a scheduled docking. Hull fouling is easily resolved at a fraction of the docking cost by divers. Has to be a mechanical problem. They are lucky a dock was available, as I've waited up to 6 weeks at times to get an opening.

The Viking expedition ships have a Azipod system, while the ocean ships use the Rolls-Royce Promas integrated prop/rudder. They are also diesel/electric. Having commanded pax vessels with most of the current propulsion systems, personally I see no advantage of Azipods over conventional systems, with the exception that Viking don't have CP blades or high lift rudders.

It is effective cruise line marketing

Clay - negative on any rumours with respect to 24/24 WC being published.

As will many of the private vendors that I use. The private vendors are generally also cheaper.

Haha!! what will cruise line PR departments think of next. I say BS. Hull fouling causes an increase in friction and takes more power to move the ship at the same speed. Many ports have vendors with divers that will provide hull cleaning services while the ship is in port. This service is readily available in Vancouver. Most likely cause is a mechanical problem requiring running at reduced power.

Clay - Having survived 3 weeks in an ES1, we are more than happy to get back to our lowly DV4. That $40K would be a nice deposit on another WC.

Not missing the ship is definitely one of every cruise line's selling points. However, that is not totally factual. The Master makes the decision to delay the sailing, or to sail. A number of issues may dictate the Master must sail, such as: If the next voyage was a full speed sailing, the ship would arrive late at the next port They have tidal/weather issues, or The pilot, tug or longshoremen are not available for a delayed sailing Any of these issues and many others could dictate that the Master must sail. In this situation, the cruise line most likely will pay the costs of getting you to the next port. However, many of the vendors I use provide the same guarantee.

Personally, I consider any money provided to the crew at the beginning of a cruise is a "Bribe" rather than a tip. Especially with Viking, I have never found it necessary to provide the crew with a "Bribe". We found the same great tone in all the bars/restaurants/lounges and based on the rumour; I may even have had some personal bottles assigned at a number of the bars. Based on the brilliant service we received, I can't imagine how it would have been improved by providing money up front. Agree with Jim, never had to sign a bar chit and many days never even had to order. Simply walking up to a bar, or being seated in the MDR, resulted in a drink arriving.😁

You will find very few people who have actually cruised in Alaska in October. There is an exceptionally good reason most cruise lines, especially those with extensive Alaska experience, don't sail to Alaska after September - Weather The 2 consecutive seasons I worked Alaska cruises, we were heading south by the 3rd week of September, but still hit a significant storm each year. It only gets worse in October. I have worked the BC Coast, just south of Ketchikan, for > 30 yrs and by October, the winter storms roll in on a regular basis. Last season one of the late season ships had to run for sheltered waters to avoid the Pacific Storm. Since NCL probably operate out of Seattle it is made worse by having to transit up/down to Alaska via the Pacific Ocean. Your other consideration should be the lack of daylight, which gets less the further north you sail. Also, the local vendors serving the cruise industry will also have mostly shut down. Yes, those cruises are cheap, but like everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

A PS3 GTY means you have a cabin onboard of at least a PS3. Pros & cons vary depending upon your preferences. If you are happy to win the upgrade lottery and score a Suite, then that is a good benefit. Personally, I consider the suites are located in the worst locations on a ship, so for us it would be a negative. When you cabin is assigned can vary significantly. At times, we have not had a cabin assigned until we checked in, but I suspect most have a cabin assigned prior to leaving home.

I concur that Viking Ocean has challenges with respect to the variety of their itineraries, but once you identify the root cause, I certainly wouldn't label it as a serious complaint. I'll suggest they have further room to continue growing the ocean brand. Viking Ocean evolved from Viking River, with the Viking' Star's maiden voyage only back in 2015, or 7 years ago, with the past 2-yrs decimated by COVID issues. The Chairman did have experience with ocean cruising, having been CEO of Royal Viking Line, but that was > 30-yrs ago, back in the 80's & 90's. However, the industry has changed substantially since those days. Just my thoughts. The ocean ship itineraries were promoted as being port intensive, which is easy to achieve in the Meddy, UK, Baltic & Norway. Even the cruises in SE Asia & Aus/NZ follow this same standard. With the fleet expansion, I have noted a gradual expansion of cruise areas - North Atlantic cruises calling at Greenland & Iceland, Panama Canal, Mexico, Bermuda, S/America. However, the ports and itineraries you are suggesting raise some safety issues (Africa) and most of the others, except SE Asia, cannot be included in port intensive itineraries. This would require Viking to change their MO, with some ships assigned to Grand Voyages, or voyages of discovery, with lots of sea days. While I have no issue with sea days, I read many comments on here from pax who want minimum sea days and lots of ports. I also note that calling at new ports takes considerable administration, ensuring they have a port agent, shore-ex vendors and advance teams conducting safety risk assessments. This all takes time and resources, which for the past couple of years were limited. Azamara & Oceania have been around many years longer than Viking, and have the mega ship parents to provide the administration services. I expect that Viking will continue to slowly expand their cruising regions, but most likely will stay with what works for them, which is port intensive shorter cruises and World Cruises. I expect to see future World Cruises with different itineraries.

We get about $20 in local currency. Just enough for tips, a coffee, or a postcard.

Prior to every cruise, we order a small amount of each country's currency from our local bank, before departure. We do this for a couple of reasons: Time in port is limited and we do not wish to waste time trying to find an ATM on our network. We also do not use 3rd party ATM's, only ones at an accredited bank Mostly we use credit cards, but the cash comes in handy for markets, small vendors, tips, etc. When we tip a guide/driver, it is for providing great service. Yes, they will accept any currency, but if the guide has put out the effort to make the tour memorable, the least we can do is provide a tip in a currency they don't have to exchange. Note - some countries will specifically request a specific currency, but Homelands no longer visits Russia. We are not overly concerned with rates, as the amount of money is minimal and due to the length of our cruises, exchange rates can vary significantly over 4 months.

Chief - It wasn't one we used on the coast, so I haven't looked at the Act since completing Masters back in 84. Just checked the definitions and they have different standards for cargo & pax. For cargo, even visiting a foreign port is still considered coastwise trade, but not with pax. Canadian Coasting Trade Act 2, d, 1 Transporting pax back to the original port is only coastwise trade if you haven't visited a foreign port. Therefore, the Coasting Trade Act is not applicable to passengers.

Certainly not my preference

Still remember the day we went to Opus Winery in Napa Valley and a glass of Opus One cost $50/glass about 10 yrs ago. This was one of the premium wines on Princess that was hundreds of dollars per bottle, so driving past the winery we had to stop and try it.

That's most disappointing. I would have thought the ship's agent or the shore-ex providers would have provided the ship a head's up, so pax could be informed and adjust plans accordingly.

If you can't get it resolved, please provide an update and I will send a note to the office in Basle to get them involved.