Viking Sun World Cruise ongoing review/comments

[helenandfrank]

Re port location .. see message 297 in this thread. Yes, a bit disappointing. Hopefully you Enjoy the day regardless.

[Jim Avery]

Re port location .. see message 297 in this thread. Yes, a bit disappointing. Hopefully you Enjoy the day regardless.

 

No worries, Mate. Haha, learning the language...... Yes, you had prepared us for this. Just such a change from Circular Quay but then it looks like most of the ports I ever took ships to.:cool:

[Emma Chisit]

No worries, Mate. Haha, learning the language...... Yes, you had prepared us for this. Just such a change from Circular Quay but then it looks like most of the ports I ever took ships to.:cool:

 

Welcome to my home town (although like helenandfrank we live "near Brisbane". In our case on the Sunshine Coast about an hour's drive away.) Sorry you have scored the Grain Terminal dock; the P & O ships are frequent visitors so I guess they lock in the closer dock at Portside on the Brisbane River. Hopefully they will put on a shuttle into the CBD for you. We are in the grip of a heatwave so be careful and stay hydrated when out and about - you may also get some showers as rain is in the forecast for today.

Following your cruise with great interest as we are taking our first Viking cruise - also on Viking Sun - in October. Hope you have a wonderful day in Brisbane.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Vandrefalk,

 

 

Tanks for remembering me :-)

 

 

Visit Samur also if ever near there.

 

 

Ragnar “track fan” D.

[vandrefalk]

Ragnar,

DH almost had an assignment to Bovington back in the day, so he is really looking forward to it. Suggestions welcome!

Not sure we’ll make it to Samur any time soon, but will keep it in mind!

Vandrefalk

[helenandfrank]

Well said Emma Chisit, cheers to you. We locals hope all on board enjoyed the day - even though it was hot and humid.

 

And Jim ... a bit more lingo (language) for you - I have been cleaning the outside windows of the house with a hose and a broom this afternoon - and in this heat it was 'hard yakka'. You might need to google that one.

 

And thanks for all the updates mate ! Most appreciated.

 

From the end of our street we can look across Bramble Bay to the Port of Brisbane. I will head down shortly to watch the Sun sail north. Safe travels to all, Frank

Edited February 13, 2018 by helenandfrank
Error

[Jim Avery]

Thanks Frank. So you have to wash the windows too... I do it in Arizona so don't have the humidity. Yes, it was a scorcher today but the air conditioning on the bus worked fine. Brisbane is a lovely city, seems much more laid back than Melbourne and Sydney. Lots of interesting places I would love to come back to. The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was rather crowded but we still had up close contact with the "critters". Very interactive. The big Kangaroo field was great. We were out there with dozens of "roos". They were so hot they just layabout in any shade and let you stroke their fur. On a cool day I suspect they would be bounding away from us pests. Wish we had another day here so we could go into town on our own for a bit. But on to the Whitsundays.:cool:

[helenandfrank]

Yes, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are really quite different. Bye Jim and all Sun passengers, we look forward to your next visit.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Ragnar,

DH almost had an assignment to Bovington back in the day, so he is really looking forward to it. Suggestions welcome!

Not sure we’ll make it to Samur any time soon, but will keep it in mind!

Vandrefalk

 

 

Don’t want to hijack the thread, so short list of suggestions:

 

- Be prepared for lots of families.

- Only need one day there, unless doing research.

- Bring a hat and sunscreen if viewing the outdoor demonstration. The view is good from any location, so no need to get to the demo early, unless you want to sit at a table.

- Pasties in the cafe passable :)

- There is a lot of explanatory signage around the vehicles, so position yourself for a good overall view of each vehicle before getting caught up reading the placards.

- Timetable boards at the local train station not very reliable, assume the on-line listing is correct. Nothing to eat or drink at the station. There is a small locals cafe’ across the tracks that has pastries and coffee, etc.

- There are cabs at the station, and the staff at the museum will call one for you when you are ready to leave.

[Azulann]

Found some fabulous pictures by Wc'ers and others on #MyVkingStory. Love the pictures from Brisbrane. Looks like Viking cruises are having a great time the world over.

You can find it on the Viking website under link: Why Viking.

[Jim Avery]

Hijack away, Ragnar. Only a few tank enthusiasts on board here. Today we just anchored off Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday Islands. It is a beautiful day and they are showing a high temp of 85F. Heading ashore for beach and whatever else we find. The view from the window is a bit reminiscent of some of the BVI views. Will know more close up. Yesterday was a lazy sea day with very slight seas and warm to hot temps. Makes the pool and a frosty drink the goal of the day. I have to say we all appear to be fully acclimated to the time changes. Heading Westbound helps as every time the time zone changes, we have a 25 hour day (except the 30 minute time change-who ever dreamed that up?) so lots of time to sleep in. Happy Valentines Day to all back home. We had ours yesterday.....:cool:

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

You know, ho-hum looks quite a bit like Cupid. Just replace the bow with a bottle opener....

[Jim Avery]

Anchored off Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday Islands. Fantastic views and glowing blue water. Had access to the resort and beaches on the island but there were signs out warning of the dreaded Irukandji jellyfish. A tiny, reportedly deadly jellyfish. As one guide told us, everything in Australia can kill you except the no-sting bees in Brisbane". Not many people in the water and the sign advising wearing a "stinger suit" but since I have no idea what a stinger suit looks like, I am pretty sure I don't have one...... A beautiful sunny day but HOT. And humid...... A little bit walkabout and back to the ship's pool and a cold drink.:cool: Tomorrow is an all day trip to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns so will have to behave tonight.;p

[deec]

Glad I did not see the sign. Enjoyed some practice snorkeling in anticipation of the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow. We saw a couple of big turtles and about 15 different types of fish. No coral. Water was very warm.

[Rabbit27]

Anchored off Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday Islands. Fantastic views and glowing blue water. Had access to the resort and beaches on the island but there were signs out warning of the dreaded Irukandji jellyfish. A tiny, reportedly deadly jellyfish. As one guide told us, everything in Australia can kill you except the no-sting bees in Brisbane". Not many people in the water and the sign advising wearing a "stinger suit" but since I have no idea what a stinger suit looks like, I am pretty sure I don't have one...... A beautiful sunny day but HOT. And humid...... A little bit walkabout and back to the ship's pool and a cold drink.:cool: Tomorrow is an all day trip to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns so will have to behave tonight.;p

Hi Jim this is the suit you should be wearing!

[Jim Avery]

Hi Jim this is the suit you should be wearing!

Aha. Just as I suspected, forgot to pack one. Oh well, more beaches on the itinerary. Thanks for the info.:cool:

[Jim Avery]

Got to wear the famous stinger suit yesterday on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. A real pain to put on but even more fun to take off wet. A bit like I imagine peeling your own skin off. A helping hand is most welcome. Anyway we had about a mile walk down the docks past some nice looking restaurants and bars to our large power catamaran. The boat was air conditioned which worked well till the return trip when it seemed to stop cooling. And again it was very hot/humid. It was a long day but still, you have to see the GBR up close at least once. The water is stunningly blue and we docked at a barge like structure permanently moored at the reef. Snorkel gear was provided as was a small glass bottom boat. The guide on the glass bottom boat explained that the corals on the GBR were more "earth toned" than the bright corals in other locations. True, mostly brown, beige, pale yellow or white. Still, its the GBR. A problem, at least for us, was that this tour took 300 of us! The barge facility would have been comfortable at about 100. Just too many people trying to do the same thing at the same time for my liking. Still, got to see the GBR up close. Glad we did it. Would not do it again. Just one opinion. For $299 each it wasn't very "special". Hard to be with 300.

[stretchcruz]

$300 per person? Through the ship? Do you know if anyone did private tours? Were the fish worth it? Wow. I'm trying to budget for our NZ to Bali cruise next year. Can't imagine a $600 snorkeling trip. And we do love to snorkel. But $600? For a day? I know...the Great Barrier Reef. But wow...

[Jim Avery]

$300 per person? Through the ship? Do you know if anyone did private tours? Were the fish worth it? Wow. I'm trying to budget for our NZ to Bali cruise next year. Can't imagine a $600 snorkeling trip. And we do love to snorkel. But $600? For a day? I know...the Great Barrier Reef. But wow...

Yes, I now feel just as you do. I have to say the excursions have (again, my opinion) been the weak link. The ship is fantastic and the crew continues to amaze. We knew there would be limited entertainment on board (which we are fine with) but Viking touts their "Award Winning Excursions". Ok, they all bloviate about their tours but we think we are fairly good at reading between the lines but have felt like we considerably overspent for a few tours and many of the included tours are little more than bus rides. Other passengers put us on to the Viator app and many are booking private excursions if the time lines leave a "comfort zone" for getting back to the ship. Easy when in port two days or overnight but cutting it too close on a private tour could be pricey if you miss the ship.:eek: It is Viking's first World Cruise and there is a certain amount of "earn while you learn", which we expected. Some considerably pricey optional tours on the horizon so we hope for the best. As another poster correctly said "Panoramic tours are code speak for bus rides". If that works for you great but we have pretty much gone back to doing our own thing either by ourselves or with another couple or two. :cool:

[Tom.in.nc]

Yes, I now feel just as you do. I have to say the excursions have (again, my opinion) been the weak link. The ship is fantastic and the crew continues to amaze.

 

 

We have to agree with Jim. “Jeep Adventure” really means “bumping along in the back of a modified Toyota pickup trick.”

 

I got the chance to do a 30 minute SCUBA dive on the reef trip ($95 more) and it was well worth it to have the opportunity to dive the wall of the GBR!

 

Same evening we took the Candlelit Forest excursion and had an absolutely amazing time at “Flames of the Forest”. [Check out their website.]

 

All in all, I think the “excursion desk team” is the only weak link and I hope they improve with time.

 

Tom

[deec]

We too were disappointed in the snorkel trip. I spoke twice with the world cruise desk from home when we were booking tours about what sort of boat we would be on. I was assured that the boat would not be one of the large vessels using a pontoon to marshal Hundreds of people. I would have booked a private tour had I known. What I am MOST upset about is the fact that those passengers who left on the later excursion DID indeed get a smaller boat experience and snorkeled directly from the boat off its swim platform. The Great Barrier Reef snorkel experience was suppose to be one of the highlights of this cruise for us. I did my homework and asked the right questions. I feel cheated and mislead....The large boat was OK they provided lunch, an opportunity to scuba dive or use a helmet for an extra fee. The staff on the boat was great and knowledgeable about the reef and had marine biologists aboard too. We had a bright sunny day and did see many fish that I don’t remember seeing before. But way not worth the money for what we got or what my expectations were. I think Viking needs to pay closer attention to how the tours are marketed and described. Truth in advertising. Hopefully this was a blip and not indicative of the tours ahead of us. The very funny thing is a couple of weeks ago we got a note one evening telling us that during a tour in Napier they were changing WHERE we would be stopping for ice cream! And then we missed the port due to weather.

 

The staff at the excursion desk is great and they all work very diligently and patiently to help with our frequent questions and changing excursions as we go along. Not sure how the Great Barrier Reef was so mishandled.

[helenandfrank]

Obviously not good enough from Viking - I feel for those who were let down by poor planning and execution. What should have been a highlight has clearly been a disappointment. Make sure Viking management on board and back in US know how you feel. All that aside - best wishes for what lies ahead.

[Rabbit27]

Got to wear the famous stinger suit yesterday on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. A real pain to put on but even more fun to take off wet. A bit like I imagine peeling your own skin off. A helping hand is most welcome. Anyway we had about a mile walk down the docks past some nice looking restaurants and bars to our large power catamaran. The boat was air conditioned which worked well till the return trip when it seemed to stop cooling. And again it was very hot/humid. It was a long day but still, you have to see the GBR up close at least once. The water is stunningly blue and we docked at a barge like structure permanently moored at the reef. Snorkel gear was provided as was a small glass bottom boat. The guide on the glass bottom boat explained that the corals on the GBR were more "earth toned" than the bright corals in other locations. True, mostly brown, beige, pale yellow or white. Still, its the GBR. A problem, at least for us, was that this tour took 300 of us! The barge facility would have been comfortable at about 100. Just too many people trying to do the same thing at the same time for my liking. Still, got to see the GBR up close. Glad we did it. Would not do it again. Just one opinion. For $299 each it wasn't very "special". Hard to be with 300.

 

 

 

Hi Jim, happy you got too wear a stinger suit it seem it was more like a wetsuit my husband has one for diving and it’s very light weight but even his is hard to peel off when wet lol!

 

We live in Australia and have been to the GBR it is very expensive for us as well to do a day trip to the reef ! Australia is very expensive to travel that’s why we travel overseas each year.

We are doing our very first cruise with Viking In December the Caribbean and Amazon.

I have loved reading all the threads and blogs!

Enjoy the rest of Australia 🇦🇺

[2552phxcrzr]

$300 per person? Through the ship? Do you know if anyone did private tours? Were the fish worth it? Wow. I'm trying to budget for our NZ to Bali cruise next year. Can't imagine a $600 snorkeling trip. And we do love to snorkel. But $600? For a day? I know...the Great Barrier Reef. But wow...

 

We were on the Oceania RTW last year and booked a private excursion in Cairns that took us out to the Barrier Reef by helicopter where we met our boat ... no pontoon. We probably had a little over 100 people on the boat. The cost was somewhere around $300 pp for a better experience. This excursion gave us time to wander around Cairns before the pick-up by the helicopter company.

 

The biggest problem for booking a snorkel-only on our own was the timing. The snorkel boats mostly leave around 8:00a ... when we were scheduled to dock, so getting to the morning departures was not possible for us. The company that the ships use (Sunlover ... I think) does (did?) have a 9:00a departure (usually the same one that takes ship’s excursions out to the pontoon). Yes, you will still be with a big group, but you will have paid less.

[Jim Avery]

A calm hot sea day enroute to Darwin. Actually, yesterday was a "sea day" for us as well as we skipped going ashore at Thursday Island. After the hot sweaty long boat ride from Cairns the day before we did not want a long hot tender ride to and from a small island we were told had "no swimming at beaches" due to dangerous jellyfish and even more dangerous saltwater crocodiles. Northern Australia beaches are making the BVI look better all the time. :cool: Also the Cruise Director announced that the tendering would take 45 minutes each way. As it turned out it was a bit less than that and those who went ashore seemed to enjoy it. All but the flies. Still have Thursday Island flies on board today. :eek: