Heidi13

Viking do state and in our WC experience, provided the shore infrastructure can accommodate up to 900 pax, they do guarantee every pax an included shore-ex in every port. In some ports, 2 options are available and you pick one of them. On our Viking WC only 2 ports had minimal included shore-ex, due to insufficient local infrastructure. Nuku Hiva and Thursday Is were examples of where the included tour was a self-guided walk.

If everything goes well, you should be able to make a Noon flight, but a number of variables can impact the risk levels. You didn't mention how many ships are in Vancouver that day, which can have a huge impact in getting out of Canada Place. If it is a 4 or 5 ship day, it can be chaos departing the cruise terminal by bus or taxi. The day of the week will also be a factor in both traffic issues between the port and airport and the number of people checking in for flights. The one benefit is once clear of downtown, you are heading against rush hour. Destination - are you flying international, USA or domestic, as the recommended arrival time varies. With international, they suggest 3 hrs before departure. With US flights you clear US Immigration in Vancouver and with the number of early morning departures, the airport can be busy. A quick trip out to the airport will get you ahead of other cruise pax. If it is a week day with lots of ships, you best bet for a speedy trip to the airport is using Skytrain. Distance from baggage pick-up to the platform is about 400 - 500 yds and includes stairs. Arrival is right at the airport. Those Skytrain cars are also better able to accommodate luggage. Trip to the airport is about 1/2 hr. Provided you have sufficient mobility and can handle your luggage up/down stairs, this is your best option for a speedy transit to YVR.

Certainly won't dispute that scurvy is possible; however, on cruise ships the root cause is most likely the crew member dietary choices, as the required fruits and vegetable, etc are available. It is each crew members choice what to eat. Scurvy is also an issue in many countries, especially the 3rd world countries. I'll suggest the incidences of scurvy in cruise ship ratings is significantly less than their home countries.

Fortunately, it was a little different in the 70's & 80's, when a number of pax did want to get to know the Officers. Since my wife was a pax on SS Oriana, I am living proof. There are many other P&O Officers in a similar situation. These days it just doesn't happen, with many officers marrying dancers, Pursers, shoppies, docs/nurses, etc.

Exactly, as when our son sailed as 3rd Officer on a US Contract he had zero benefits and certainly wasn't making a huge salary. Even back in my days, as 3rd Officer, the watch Cox'n (PO rank) made more money than me. Back in those days, the Captain and C/Eng weren't close to the highest earners onboard.

Small issue with your view of the World, as the shipping regulations specify the minimum victuals that the ship owner must provide to the Master, Officers and Ratings. Therefore, unfortunately the Officers are unable to pay for their pax quality meals.

As a solo cruiser, I'll suggest that Viking might not work for you as they do not offer any discounts for solo pax. They sell every cabin for the entire WC, so have no incentive to provide discounts. This year they sold 2 full ships, sailing 3-days apart.

Rob - another point I can add is that YF was originally a 10-yr vaccine, so we had it repeated every decade. They now say it is good for life. However, I have never received a definitive answer to whether all my previous YF jabs are now good for life. I received my last one at 55 yrs and since I am now in the 60+ group, and as it is a live vaccine, I will not be getting another one.

Navigating channels at night, with a full moon, isn't that much different that daylight and a clear, moonlight night is way better than dull, overcast day with a low ceiling. You should also consider that close to the Solstice, in northern latitudes we never get total darkness. Even around the top of Vancouver Island, from about 3rd week in May to middle of July, it never goes past Astronomical Twilight, which is the 3rd twilight at sunset and 1st at sunrise.

Negative, at least some of Johnstone Strait is in daylight. How much is in daylight depends on the times of slack water at Seymour.

Departure Ketchikan you have the town to port and airport to stbd. You then sail through Tongass Narrows, which is quite narrow and reasonably scenic, with the best views being from up fwd. The ship then sails down Revillagigedo Channel towards Dixon Entrance. It has a number of islands each side. On a sunny day it is quite scenic, but a dull, overcast day with low clouds, not so much. The speed is determined by the Seymour tides, but best guess is about 6 hrs to clear Revillagigedo Channel, entering Dixon Entrance. Here you have the Canadian mainland to port and open ocean to stbd. Not overly scenic. You will set course for Hecate Strait, which is a very wide channel. All you will see are the tops of mountains. Clearing Hecate Strait, you will set course for Queen Charlotte Sound, picking up the coast pilot around Pine Island. When you arrive at Pine Island depends on the speed and tides at Seymour. At 20 kts, Pine Island to Vancouver is about 13 hrs, and Pine Island to Seymour 7 - 8 hrs. However, most cruise ships are steaming much slower. If the Seymour tides are Midnight, I expect the ship would be at Pine Island about 12:00 - 15:00. Upon picking up the pilot, the first 2 to 3 hrs is through Queen Charlotte Sound, which has mountain scenery both sides. On approaching Malcolm Island, the scenery improves as you enter Blackfish Passage, then Johnstone Strait. With scenery on both sides, I always prefer to be up fwd. Sunset May 14th is about 21:15, so if it is a nice day, you should have light until at least 21:45. Best guess is light until somewhere between Helmecken island and Rock Bay. However, if you have a clear, moonlight evening it is still scenic until through Seymour and Campbell River. These are all best guesses, as speeds and timings are all dependent on the Seymour tides.

Enjoy your slower than others stroll around the Promenade Deck. Since this is a a forum on cruising, I'll suggest we use the same rules we do for manoeuvring ships. In an overtaking situation, the responsibility of keeping clear rests entirely with the faster ship and the one being overtaken should maintain its course and speed. Therefore, the slower one has no responsibility to make room for the faster one. If fast walkers and/or joggers can't live with that, they have other options available. As a walker, I certainly wouldn't be up on the jogging track or hogging a tread mill, so enjoy you slow walks around the Promenade Deck, pushing your husband. Slow walkers and pax pushing wheelchairs have just as much right to use the deck as do power walkers, and other than common courtesy, have no requirement to give way to somebody going faster.

Jim - If you're docking at one of the many berths in Phu My, unless the roads have improved significantly since our last visit, affirmative, it is 90 mins + into downtown Saigon.

Regardless of how many warnings and notices are posted, for pax on shore leave, it is still an additional risk factor that could be easily mitigated.

Day 1 comments - if you wish to fully enjoy the scenery in Georgia Strait, I would probably have a late lunch, or early snack prior to 17:00 departure. If still hungry, you can order room service after sunset. Don't forget that after sunset, you still have a good period of twilight, which is longer in more northerly latitudes than further south. Day 2 comments - If you wish to observe the transit through Johnstone Strait at night, I suggest staying up until about 07:00 to 08:00. As per my previous post, if it is a clear night with reasonable moonlight, the views are fairly impressive. If it is dull and overcast, I don't suggest missing sleep. To put it in perspective, every Sunday morning at 04:00 when I went back to work on the Bridge, the ship was close to Robson Bight, depending on Seymour tides. The southbound schedules haven't changed in 50 yrs, as they are dictated by the arrival time Vancouver and the slack water at Seymour Narrows.

If it is a clear night with reasonable moonlight, the view through the channel at night is quite impressive. Definitely worth a few hours of lost sleep. If it is dull, overcast with low clouds, enjoy the sleep.

Nancy - best guess is challenges with managing the majority of the crew's hours of rest, in accordance with MLC2006. However, this is easily mitigated by changing cloxs at Noon, or mid-afternoon, when moving them ahead. Many of the Captain I worked for back in my days as a Junior Officer will be turning over in their graves, with ships arriving at the wrong time.

So true, still remember a couple of season ago one of the Verstappen and Hamilton crashes, with Verstappen's car flying over the top of Hamilton, at Monza.

I just can't imagine having all pax using a different time from the shore. From a risk management perspective it is not necessary. Yes, crew hours of rest requirement are stricter now, but changing cloxs in the afternoon is an excellent tool, to help manage hours of rest for the majority of the crew. Fortunately, I have never had that experience.

Nobody has mentioned anything about polling pax, so I have no idea where that came from. My issue with your original post isn't the direction of travel, as the traditional direction on cruise ships, regardless of Flag, is counter-clockwise. My issue is your statement that everyone should adhere to your American standard of walking on the right and passing on the left. What gives you the right, on a foreign-flagged ship, to request other nationalities to follow the standards accepted in your country? When I am sailing on a Dutch flagged vessel in South America, with the possible exception of Dutch Nationals, I consider it as extremely rude for any Nationality, to expect other nationalities to adhere to their standards. Sorry, once you step foot on a foreign-flagged ship, you are no longer in the United States, nor dealing with US Laws and standards. BTW - I have also experienced this issue when Americans were <5% of the pax compliment, on a WC out of Sydney. Yes, we had a couple of Americans out every morning walking on the right, while the Aussies, Kiwis and I walked on the left. Never an issue, as we all got along, chatting as we passed and made it work. Certainly, nobody found it necessary to ask them to follow the local custom, and the majority, and certainly nobody posted a rant on Cruise Critic. In fact, the AM walking group, with all nationalities, met for a photo op and few drinks at the end of the cruise.

Departure Vancouver is usually about 17:00. Sailing out the harbour is very scenic on the port side with Stanley Park. Stbd side isn't so pleasant, being a sulphur dock. Clearing 1st Narrows, you have West Vancouver homes to stbd and anchored ships on both sides. On the Port side, you have the end of Stanley park then the Vancouver shoreline out to UBC. Entering Georgia Strait, you have a succession of smaller islands on both side, and Vancouver Island to port and mainland to stbd. If close to the Solstice, sunset is about 21:30, with the ship being about Hornby to Courtney, depending on Seymour tides. If it is a clear evening you have every chance of seeing a great sunset. Unfortunately, the narrow channel is navigated at night, with the ship being around Robson Bight/Blackfish around the first light. By 07:00/08:00 the ship is well clear of the most scenic areas, although you still have mountains on both sides for a couple of hours, so it is reasonable scenery, if it's your first time. Once passed Pine Island, you will head for Hecate Strait, which is a very wide channel (30+ miles wide), so you will only see the tops of the mountains. It remains like this until well after sunset.

Just out of interest, what specific concerns do you have with the size of Volendam on a WC.

On cruise ships, the vast majority of the Officers & Crew are day workers that get most hours of rest at night. When heading Eastbound and cloxs move ahead, changing them at Noon makes it significantly easier to manage the crews hours of rest, as mandated by ILO, in the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, as amended. For watchkeepers, 1 hr cloxs is split across the 3 watches, so when steaming East, each watch works 20 min less, so they get a small benefit from the reduction in hours of rest.

Crossing an ocean, the Master will adjust the ship's cloxs, so as to maintain Meridian Altitude (sun at the highest point) reasonably close to Noon. Although they no longer do sights, I certainly hope this tradition is maintained. Cloxs can be moved either 1/2hr or 1 hr, at the Master's discretion, with the ship arriving in each port consistent with local time. I am aware that some cruise lines have started the practice of not changing cloxs, but in 40 yrs at sea, I have never visited a single port and had ship time differ from shore time. In fact, that type of error would be hazardous to the Navigator's career prospects.

Dee - Take the Thames Clipper from Greenwich to Tower Pier. On exiting the pier you have a shop on the right, which I recall as being the Tower of London shop and some restaurants on the ground floor of the condo on the left. As soon as you pass the Tower of London shop, head over to the right, which is the meeting point for the tour. At least it was last time we did the tour in 2017. Distance from exiting the clipper on the pier is about 100 - 150 yds. If it is a wet night, and you arrive early they have a few cafes around where you can stay dry. If you want something stronger, they have a Wetherspoon (chain pub) up on the main street just north of the Tower. BTW - it is a brilliant tour.