eylarson

On 11/25/2022 at 11:46 AM, FLORIDA FLOUNDER said:

Does anyone know if you ALWAYS wear the Viking provided boots when you leave the ship for every single expedition?

Trying to gauge if I need to bring hiking boots.

Hiking boots not required and would be a hinderance.  Most all Zodiac landing require wading ashore, so Viking provided rubber boots the best option.  The longest walk/hike was in the Falklands, Westpoint Island in March of 2022 on Octantis.  

On 8/3/2022 at 4:21 PM, Clay Clayton said:

Glad you enjoyed your first Viking cruise. I noted your disappointment at the lack of rack of lamb. Don’t know if they had any of the breakfast lamb chops on board but if they did, I suspect that they would have been happy to serve them to you at dinner.  
 

We have found that it’s rare for Viking to say no (at least once on board). Two examples come immediately to mind.
 

We had the most delicious cold pea soup onboard once. On a later cruise we were disappointed when the pea soup  offered on the menu turned out to be the usual (albeit tasty) hot split peas soup. The Restaurant Manager must of seen us frowning at each other about it, came over and asked what was wrong. We explained nothing was wrong but how much we loved the cold soup. A few minutes later the chef appears, asks about it as he wasn’t aware of the version.  He said he would do some research. The next day he stopped me and said to let him know when we would like it!
 

Similar thing happened when my DMIL was disappointed that grilled lobster wasn’t on the menu. Next day, she was asked which night she wanted her lobster.

 

So the lesson is to be sure and ask. They can’t say yes if you don’t! 😊. Enjoy your first Ocean Cruise!

Always ask.  On our Octantis B2B, March to May 2022, they fixed a deluxe nachos platter twice and S'Mores we had enjoyed on WC 2019.  

1 hour ago, FolsomMike said:

I know it’s official but I’ll feel more secure when the promised 6/14 update is done. I wonder if there are folks starting their Viking cruise in a few days who are not on Cruise Critic and are not aware of the changes. 

Done for me

Curious does anyone have any prices on the optional excursions in the various stops in Antarctica? Even a range or a good guess? We are just about to purchase this and wanted a clearer picture of what the actual cost will be. 

Unless there is a change in policy there are NO optional tours in Antarctica.  Everyone has an opportunity to do all, weather allowing.  

8 hours ago, pontac said:

 

Thank you; but I wonder if the Great Lakes will be the same.

 

On the three lists you kindly posted, of the white wines only three are included in Silver Spirits and they are all Argentinian, which would be appropriate for a cruise from Antarctica.

 

In Wine List 1 not a single white is included.

 

There is a remarkable consistency in pricing of the Silver Spirits wines - they are all $25

 

On a US to Canada cruise I would hope for more US wines and  Canadian wines.

I do not recall being offered any Canadian or Upstate New York wines.  During the Niagara Falls tour there was an opportunity to buy them during the free time.  You can always bring spirits or beer back on board and we did several times.  Sommelier was always pleased to serve and held what ever we didn't drink until our next lunch or dinner.   

11 hours ago, pontac said:

 

If you could post a photo of the winelist I would be grateful as we only drink wine and are considering buying the Silver Spirits package for our Great Lakes cruise next year.

We were on from Antarctica to Milwaukee, 61 days in all.  The list changed 3 times, although after so long on board the waiters could always "find" us a bottle of something off of an earlier list.   

Wine 1.pdf Wine 2.pdf Wine 3.pdf

On Octantis we had both a bridge tour and a Chef's tour of the MI/I95, on Deck A as well as dinner at a Chef's table set up in the galley.  This was during the 60 or so pax leg from Buenos Aries to Bridgetown.  One of the highlights of the the trip.    https://manage.wix.com/dashboard/07a99337-0e7b-4539-aca4-bba24caf0e4a/blog/5901e877-68a0-49d0-86c7-b12875eb4252/edit

21 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Can't say about Canadian regulations, but these submersibles are covered by the Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1994, and Subchapter T of 46CFR for USCG regulations.  Passenger carrying submersibles have been operating in US jurisdiction since 1987.  Subchapter T applies to "small passenger vessels", those carrying 6-12 passengers.  Any vessel (submersible or not), that carries less than 6 passengers for hire are considered to be "uninspected vessels", and fall under 46 CFR Subchapter C.   The 1994 Act initiated the inspection of foreign vessels for compliance to carry passengers in US waters, and this includes the submersibles.  The submersibles are considered to be no different from the tender boats on foreign flag cruise ships.

All that may be, but we were on Octantis from 9 March to 7 May.  There were limited sub ops in Antarctic waters and at two locations in the Caribbean.  None from there to Milwaukee and the reason given was the challenge of compliance with regulations. 

Given our experience, I would not recommend booking an expedition cruise because you must go in a submersible.  The operating envelope is so small, the opportunity so limited and you will miss other events while waiting for your turn to dive.  One couple was scheduled four times and never left the ship.  My wife, once and missed an outstanding snorkel excursion.    

6 hours ago, CTLeeA said:

Thank you very much...very thoughtful of you.  We were told to  ask when we board the ship to see if anyone might have cancelled.  I was going to do the submarine but with covid so rampant, the thought of being shumshed into a small space with 5 strangers for 45 minutes makes if less appealing.  

Submersibles can not operate in US or Canadian waters due to Canadian and US Coast Guard regulations so that isn't a consideration.  

10 hours ago, kml246 said:

I hope this is the right thread to ask this, but I couldn't find a Viking Expeditions forum, yet. 

 

We had an Antarctica Expedition scheduled for this past January on Atlas' World Navigator. 45 minutes before we were to board our charter from Orlando to Ushuaia they canceled the cruise. The prior cruise had several COVID cases and Argentina was requiring a thorough cleaning and inspection of the ship, and Atlas did not feel they could turn around the ship quickly enough. We rebooked for January 2023, but Atlas has made several changes that we aren't happy with, so we are cancelling the cruise.

 

We've been looking for a replacement expedition and like much of what Viking offers with the Octanis and Polaris Antarctica sailings. What's keeping us from booking is our concern with the large passenger count. Can anyone that sailed Octanis to Antarctica this past season give feedback on how having almost 400 passengers on an Antarctica expedition ship impeded your ability to get on excursions while in Antarctica. I know Viking guarantees one landing per day (subject to weather), but I would like to do multiple outings each day. Were you able to do multiple outings each day and how difficult were the additional outings to arrange?

 

Thank you,

Kevin

Most days we did a Zodiac landing and one of the other activities (kayak, Special Ops Boat or Zodiac cruise)  See my previous about the submersibles.  We were the last cruise of the season and had 6 days in Antarctica, so that may not be typical and the ship was not at passenger capacity.  One day was a hybrid, I kayaked and went to shore in my dry suit, then Zodiac back to the ship.  

On 4/17/2022 at 9:04 AM, sippican said:

Any other "short gals" out there that can add information about the pants provided? I am 5'3" and even some petites are miles too long. Was it an issue for anyone?

 

Another hint for finding reasonable insulated wear for under the pants is to shop in the activewear departments of TJMaxx or such. Some of the ladies exercise/yoga pants are fleece lined. I use them under my ski pants.

Just roll the cuff up.  You'll be wearing the provided waterproof boots every time you wear the pants.  My wife rolled her pants up with no problem.  They got wet during shore landings and when getting boots washed of guano upon return to the ship, but the drying closet in each room had them ready for the next day.  

8 hours ago, deec said:

On the Antarctic explorer are all excursions included or will there be some optional?

In Antarctica ALL expeditions/excursions were included.  On options, no extra charges at least this season.  They included Zodiac landings, Zodiac and Special Operations Boat cruises, kayaking, and the submersibles.  Please read my earlier post about all the limitation on submersible operations.   

Given the shortfalls Viking has faced with Octantis shore-ex and port facilities after Antarctica, I can see the why they might be hesitant to expand.  Be interesting to see how the Mississippi cruises work.  New is hard!

2 hours ago, May B said:

I was reading your blog but now I’ve lost it! Can you please post the link?

 

or email me at msa1289 at yahoo dot com

eylarson.wixsite.com/website-1  

Agree with photopro2 about Dani and James. They are great!!! I think part of the blame lies with shore agents.  Perhaps COVID caused many to leave the business, but those that are left do not seem to understand Viking's guest's expectation.  Tours from New York on have been very good.  They are so excited to see us as we are the first cruise ship in two years. (Sept-Iles, Quebec below.)    But there are still avoidable glitches Ticket says Quietvox, Daily doesn't.  Written descriptions differ from oral brief the night before differ from the actual trip.  Viking escort sometimes, sometimes not.  Sometimes the escort is way too intrusive telling the guide what we are capable of and generally in the way.   

Was Torstein masked?😳

Yes.  The few times I saw him he was masked.  

5 hours ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

eylarson, do you know if it is going to be possible to make submarine reservations prior to boarding? 

No submersible ops in the Great Lakes.  No reservations in advance because the operators must have your weight.  There is also a cautionary safety brief before weigh in advising of the agility required to go from Zodiac to sub landing step, to the sub ladder, down the ladder and the crawl to the seating.  Finally a warning that those with claustrophobia are advised to not participate.   Once you've viewed the safety brief, and weigh-in the operators determine the best mix of passengers for each dive i.e. you may not be paired with your traveling companion.  A time the next day is scheduled for you to show.  If you don't go due to poor conditions or a submarine mechanical problem, you will be rescheduled, but not necessarily with a priority because you missed the day before.   

Be realistic in your expectations. The limited operating envelope of the submersibles and the cautious approach taken by Viking means more people have had their scheduled dive cancelled than have gone. You’ll miss excursions/expeditions that you might never do again.

Not on Octantis

Octantis bandwidth has been extremely constricted since arrival of travel writers on the Barbados to New York leg.  The Cruise Critic writer has posted at least on video on Facebook.  We all know streaming is a bandwidth hog.  Today, the day before disembarkation and a holiday really slowed things down.  Not sure Viking can do much to alleviate.  

On 4/8/2022 at 7:40 PM, traveld said:

I am wondering how various cruisers are obtaining their expedition gear, i.e. boots, waterproof pants, gloves, mid-layer clothing, etc.  There is a company that rents and delivers to Silversea and Nat Geo ships, but not to Viking ships.  For the experienced expedition cruiser, what are the must-haves and what are the nice-to-haves?

I am thinking about doing a Viking expedition cruise, but not sure how to obtain the necessary gear.  I don't really want to purchase too much since I live in a warm weather location and would have no further use after the cruise.

Any advice or insight would be appreciated.

The boots, parka and waterproof pants provided by Viking are great.  We added lined jeans, long under ware from Target, hooded sweatshirt, ski mittens, and googles (the latter two borrowed) and fairly heavy boot socks.   DW was never uncomfortable cold even at -14F in snowy conditions.  My feet got cold in the kayak, the same day.  The provided dry suit was fine, but the wet suit booties over socks were chilly.  The special ops boat was cold.  No getting around the wind chill and going gloveless to take pictures.  

There are a number of younger (relatively speaking) people on board, but demographics probably off by the large number of journalists on this leg, 40 or so is the rumor.  

The Expedition Leader, Danny Edmunds, (Cruise director equivalent) is not the best.  Just answered three questions re COVID procedures, about entry back into the US at San Juan with, "I don't know."  Excursions have not been a strong point on the Expedition journey.  Mark, the Excursion Manager, seems to be doing his best, but there is an info gap among the local excursion leaders, the ship and the web info.  

We were lucky enough to do the submarine yesterday. It was a ton of fun and really worth doing. We didn't see a ton (three barracudas) but it was so much fun just experiencing something we'd never experienced before. 

Everyone should know the subs are an "crap shoot"  If booked you'll miss guaranteed to happen tours and given the limit on weather and sea state your may spend hours waiting for an event that won't happen.  

The biggest problem (Only a problem given the usual excellence we've come to expect on Viking) has been with excursions/expeditions.  In fact in Antarctica everything worked like it should.  If weather was a factor, plan B was put in place and deviations clearly communicated to the pax.  We're now in the Caribbean and things aren't as smooth.  No doubt COVID has played a role, but the Daily should include all excursion info, meeting place, time et al.  A moderate excursion turned out to be a very challenging climb for all up a dirt, sometimes muddy and rocky trail.  

That said it's a beautiful ship.  The wait and bar staff couldn't be more helpful.  Food is as expected on Viking.  No charge for cappuccino's or expressos.  

Since 9 May we've thrown ours outside the door on Octantis anytime after midnight with no problem.  No cabin attendant should ever tell you they have to come in the room at their schedule.  

St Kitts is the sub ops location.