RlyLvn

We are on Explora I now. Incredible experience! Way too many positives to list. I should be keeping a journal but I’m just soaking it up.

Hi English Tim I think you were one of the people who mentioned that there should be a night light in the Bathroom. FYI….EJ is listening…..today a night light was installed in the Bathroom.

Fully aware of when Antarctica season is.

I am just glancing through these posts. There are a lot of opinions. Just want to say I am sailing on Explora I as we speak. Here are some of the comments I am hearing: 1) “This is the nicest and most beautiful ship we have ever been on”. This person just got back from Seabourn in Antarctica. 2) “This is our third cruise on Explora and we have another one booked” 3) “We are sold and there is no going back to Silversea, no comparison” 4) “The food is the best ever” 5) “Educating TA’s seems to be working. My TA advised me of the ship. We booked it and WOW! We booked a second. 6) “The outdoor public areas are just out of this world” I could go on and on. All positive! We are loving every minute. Cheers!

Has anyone heard how many passengers are on the next cruise leaving on Friday Transatlantic. I just spoke with EJ and they are saying it will be the busiest cruise yet. “Almost at full capacity”. Thanks.

Thanks Tim for your live reporting. We have been following you since you left LA. Hope you are recovered from Covid and are ready to enjoy the land portion of your trip. We are flying to Miami tomorrow from LA to spend a couple of days before boarding Explora for the Transatlantic. Your updates have been very helpful. We will be in your home country for a couple of weeks in June visiting family. Take Care and enjoy your days at sea before Miami.

Thanks exciting lorilg12! We just finalized our reservation for Viking WC January 2025. LA to London 120 days. Its unusual for us to reserve anything so far ahead. We retired at 55 in 2011 and have been traveling ever since, both by land and sea. We have cruised on most cruise lines in most cabins/suites. We usually book at the last minute unless there is a particular cabin/suite that we really want. It’s hard to know what we want to do 7 months from now. Since Viking Sky is a small ship we figured we better book before it sells out. Thanks to everyone on this forum for your input.

Hey Heidi13 which cruise line did you do your two World Cruises on?

Got it! I agree! We are in Santa Barbara, CA and have a Travel and Tropical Medicine Center. We will make an apt. and take the 120 day itinerary with us as well as discuss our plans for excursions. I think I will save the bush for South Africa and stay in cities in Kenya and Tanzania. I was concerned that it would be a deal breaker not to have the vaccination. Glad to get confirmation on this forum that a letter will cover us. Onward and Upward!

Thanks Heidi13. sounds like you have certainly had your share. I dont want to risk it if I dont need too. We are in Zanzibar for 2 days and Mombasa for 2 days. Having said that I dont want to contract Yellow Fever either.

Thank you so much for your detailed responses. This is very helpful and very much appreciated. We do have an approved Travel Health Provider from our land trip to Africa a few years ago. We have heard from others that they were very sick with the vaccine. Glad to hear you didnt have any side effects Port Power. tigerfan75 how did you tolerate the vaccine? Thanks again.

Yes you can hold for 1 week. This gives you a little time to decide.

Oh My! I have been following your trip since you left LA. This sounds pretty bad! We are joining the ship in Miami on the 31st for the Transatlantic to Casablanca I hope these undesirables get off in Miami and there isnt another load ready to board Last I heard we will have 600 Passengers on that leg. Fingers crossed that your dining experience remains excellent.

I have a question regarding Vacinations. We have been to South Africa in the past so we have had all the usual vaccinations except the dreaded yellow fever which wasnt needed on that trip. On he Viking World Cruise next year we are going to Kenya and Tanzania prior to South Africa. South Africa requires a yellow fever cerificate fo anyone who has travelled through countries exposed to yellow fever, Kenya and Tanzania are two of those countries. The Yellow Fever Vaccination is not recommended for anyone over 60 due to increase side effects, unless you live in those countries or have long term exposure. I have asked Viking to clarify this and am waiting for a response. From researching this it looks like you can get in with a Physician letter explaining you are high risk and therefore did not receive the vaccination. Any past World Cruisers had this issue or have any information on this? Thanks, D.

Thanks everyone for all the detailed information. We are seriously considering the Viking World Cruise for January 2025. We currently have the reservation on hold. 120 days from LA to London. I only see one ship doing the Viking World Cruise next year. There was mention on his forum that there ae two Viking Ships doing the World Cruise next year. Where did you see that? Thanks, D.

Thanks again for the feedback Its my understanding from the Viking Tripmate that if you cancel or interupt for a covered reason you are reimbursed 100% cash back for cancellation or prorated cash for interuption Cancel for any reason is 100% future cruise credit or prorated future cruise credit. There policy is less epensive for sure but I would like higher amounts for health coverage. What I might end up doing is getting the Viking Tripmate and then adding 120 day health only coverage in addition through another insurer. From my research so far this gives me all the coverage for a much more reasonable price. The health and evacuation portion without the cancellation and interuption is very reasonable.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It looks like Seven Corners will cover up to 120 days. I will check with TripInsuranceStore.com as well, and look into an annual plan for comparison.

We are considering the Viking Sky World Cruise from LA to London in January, 120 days. We cruise several times a year with 36 days being our longest cruise. Does anyone have any tips/resources for the best option for a World Cruise. Viking has Trip protection but I would like to compare that with other options and overall coverage amounts. Health coverage is priority as well as cancellation protection. Any feedback is welcome. Thanks a lot, Dee

Hi Sydney68! Thanks for the great update. We board Explora I in Miami for the Transatlantic. Do you know how many passengers are on your cruise? It seems that the ship has not been sailing at capacity. Thanks a lot. I will stay tuned for your exciting itinerary. Have fun!

Hi English Tim we are boarding Explora in Miami. Are you staying on back to Europe? Love your posts. Looks like you are having a great vacation already. We live in California and will check the ship out in San Diego on Monday. I am originally from the UK and was there a couple of weeks ago. Bon Voyage!

I booked Explora Journey for the May 31st sailing just a few days ago. I booked through a TA. I could not see my reservation online either. I called and spoke with EJ cruise ambassador and for some reason they didn’t have my email on file. They fixed it and then I could see everything online immediately.

Thank you Poconolady and Michael for your response. Very helpful! We will go for it!

Wow! Thank you for this detailed information. I really appreciate it. Very helpful! Maybe we need a month in Tokyo!! 😀

Hi BruceMuzz we are planning on going into Tokyo from Yokohama for the day during our B2B this month. Is there multiple train station stops in Tokyo? Which station should we get off at if we just want to see the city for a few hours? Thanks for your help.

Thank you all for this very helpful information. We are doing a B2B on September 15 from Vancouver to Yokohama (14 nights) and then Yokohama to Yokohama (12 nights) on Celebrity Millenium. We arrive in Yokohama at 7am and leave at 7pm. Is it feasible for us to take the train into Tokyo for a few hours and get back in time for the 7pm departure?