Viking Ocean - Combined Cruise Schedule

[FetaCheese]

Can you or anyone else help me understand your dropbox?  I'm looking for the new Saturn schedule, but have not found it.  Thanks .

[CharTrav]

15 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

Can you or anyone else help me understand your dropbox?  I'm looking for the new Saturn schedule, but have not found it.  Thanks .

There is no new Saturn schedule. It hasn't changed since I started the schedule for 2023 to 2025.  Saturn's schedule still only runs thru September 2024. Don't know why this is the case when the others are scheduled into 2025. But it is. 

 

Or are you having problems downloading a copy of the file? 

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, FetaCheese said:

Can you or anyone else help me understand your dropbox?  I'm looking for the new Saturn schedule, but have not found it.  Thanks .

Assuming you have successfully downloaded the file and are able to run Excel - open the Cruises tab and filter the Ships column on Saturn. This will display Saturn's schedule sorted by first sail date. Of course - as I wrote earlier - she's not scheduled beyond Sept 2024. 

[FetaCheese]

10 hours ago, CharTrav said:

Assuming you have successfully downloaded the file and are able to run Excel - open the Cruises tab and filter the Ships column on Saturn. This will display Saturn's schedule sorted by first sail date. Of course - as I wrote earlier - she's not scheduled beyond Sept 2024. 

Thanks, will try to download on desktop, where I have Excel.  Not working on mobile.

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, FetaCheese said:

Thanks, will try to download on desktop, where I have Excel.  Not working on mobile.

Am sure it'll work for you. It's not meant to work on a mobile device. But be aware that you'll have to configure Excel to permit macros. 

[FetaCheese]

2 hours ago, CharTrav said:

Am sure it'll work for you. It's not meant to work on a mobile device. But be aware that you'll have to configure Excel to permit macros. 

Thanks for your response.  Have Excel, and tried download, didn't open in Excel, but said I need WinRar -- don't know what that is.  I'm not going further, but appreciate your help.  I'll just try to find the schedule on V website.

Edited February 20, 2023 by FetaCheese
addl info

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, FetaCheese said:

Thanks for your response.  Have Excel, and tried download, didn't open in Excel, but said I need WinRar -- don't know what that is.  I'm not going further, but appreciate your help.  I'll just try to find the schedule on V website.

WinRar is some file compression software that you don't need. I'm on my iPhone right now but I'll go to my workstation and see what you need to do to simply download it from a browser like Chrome or Firefox. 

 

Alternatively - look at my signature box which has the link to the folder where I keep that file, as well as, instructions for how to download a single file from a folder. 

Edited February 20, 2023 by CharTrav

[OneSixtyToOne]

2 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

Thanks for your response.  Have Excel, and tried download, didn't open in Excel, but said I need WinRar -- don't know what that is.  I'm not going further, but appreciate your help.  I'll just try to find the schedule on V website.

 

RAR is a file compression format similar to ZIP. It handles larger files but uses more memory. ZIP is ubiquitous and predates RAR. RAR is proprietary which is why it is not built into more systems. The WINZIP program usually handles RAR. Linux geeks love RAR. It's another computer religious war because RAR is more efficient and Linux users love to show they are superior.

Edited February 20, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

RAR is a file compression format similar to ZIP. It handles larger files but uses more memory. ZIP is ubiquitous and predates RAR. RAR is proprietary which is why it is not built into more systems. The WINZIP program usually handles RAR. Linux geeks love RAR. It's another computer religious war because RAR is more efficient and Linux users love to show they are superior.

Joe - yes indeed. You nailed it.

[CharTrav]

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

RAR is a file compression format similar to ZIP. It handles larger files but uses more memory. ZIP is ubiquitous and predates RAR. RAR is proprietary which is why it is not built into more systems. The WINZIP program usually handles RAR. Linux geeks love RAR. It's another computer religious war because RAR is more efficient and Linux users love to show they are superior.

True. But my point is that compression should not come into play at all. It's a simple file download. The only time Dropbox yips about using compression to download is if you pick a whole folder or multiple files rather than an individual file. Clicking on the link my post from a desktop browser displays the first tab of the spreadsheet. All that is needed then is to click on the download button at the top. Which then downloads the file. No compression. I've just tested this out making sure I'm logged out of Dropbox. And it works. So I'm a little confused. 

 

Not getting into the conversation about which OS is better - be it Linux, Unix, Windows, MacOS etc. I'm married to a Mac bigot. And have had to listen to dear colleagues harangue me about why am I still using Windows - for years. Sigh.....😜

Edited February 20, 2023 by CharTrav

[CCWineLover]

47 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

True. But my point is that compression should not come into play at all. It's a simple file download. The only time Dropbox yips about using compression to download is if you pick a whole folder or multiple files rather than an individual file. Clicking on the link my post from a desktop browser displays the first tab of the spreadsheet. All that is needed then is to click on the download button at the top. Which then downloads the file. No compression. I've just tested this out making sure I'm logged out of Dropbox. And it works. So I'm a little confused. 

 

Not getting into the conversation about which OS is better - be it Linux, Unix, Windows, MacOS etc. I'm married to a Mac bigot. And have had to listen to dear colleagues harangue me about why am I still using Windows - for years. Sigh.....😜

CharTrav - it worked just fine for me just now.  Always has.

[FetaCheese]

On 2/20/2023 at 1:21 PM, CharTrav said:

WinRar is some file compression software that you don't need. I'm on my iPhone right now but I'll go to my workstation and see what you need to do to simply download it from a browser like Chrome or Firefox. 

 

Alternatively - look at my signature box which has the link to the folder where I keep that file, as well as, instructions for how to download a single file from a folder. 

Thanks for your assistance.  Wife -- tech guru -- opened your your spreadsheet.  

 

Very impressed with your detailed, hard work !!

[Lilyskittymom]

Any idea where Orion will be between April 1st of this year, after they finish Secrets of Southeast Asia in Singapore, and April 15th, when they show up in Hong Kong for Far Eastern Horizons and Far East and Alaska?

 

Maria

 

[Heidi13]

23 minutes ago, Lilyskittymom said:

Any idea where Orion will be between April 1st of this year, after they finish Secrets of Southeast Asia in Singapore, and April 15th, when they show up in Hong Kong for Far Eastern Horizons and Far East and Alaska?

 

Maria

 

 

Since she was delivered in 2018, my best guess is she is heading to drydock for the 1st Special Survey. Singapore yards are popular repair yards, then she would deadhead to Hong Kong for the next sailing.

[CharTrav]

just noticed updates made to the 2024 and 2025 schedule -- will post update soon.

[CharTrav]

Have finished updating the spreadsheet.  With respect to VO -- all the changes are with respect to Saturn which is now scheduled thru mid-Sept 2025, including adding a new cruise called Malta, Morocco & the Mediterranean that starts and ends in Barcelona.  Am seriously considering that for 2025! With respect to VE -- a few changes to the schedule for Polaris including adding a new Grand Journey called Antarctic Explorer & The Americas that travels from BA to Fort Lauderdale. If you already have a copy -- just use the link provided in the Notes tab to update what you have. Otherwise -- use the link provided under "General Viking Stuff" in my signature box.

[CharTrav]

Have posted an update.  No changes to VO schedules.  VE schedules for both Polaris and Octantis have been extended into February 2025.  A new cruise  has been added - Longitudinal World Cruise IV - for Octantis from Milwaukee to Ushuaia. Again -- if you already have a copy, just use the link provided in the Notes tab to update what you have. Otherwise -- use the link provided under "General Viking stuff" in my signature box  to open the folder containing this document with an obvious name.  Remember no DropBox account required to simply download the file.

[CharTrav]

Heads up regarding the 2024 and 2025 VO schedules.  Looks like there is some major reshuffling in, at least, the 2024 schedule -- maybe more for 2025.  I started to do what I thought would be a minor update to the schedule, a simple addition of new itineraries.  But it's more than that and I don't have time today to handle it.  For one -- the number of Viking Homelands cruises in 2024 has been reduced from 15 to 12. Also seeing shuffling around with Sky and Saturn. Anyway -- more complex than I want to work on today.  Will try to work on the schedule this Sunday.

[CharTrav]

Got it done and have uploaded the updated spreadsheet.

VO:   Basically major shifts of Saturn's schedule in 2024 (mostly) and 2025, which affected Sky and Jupiter in a few instances. Biggest changes are that in 2024  the number of sailings of Viking Homelands has been reduced from 18 to 12 while the number of sailings of British Isles Explorer has been increased from 14 to 19.  Cruises tied to Viking Homelands and British Isles Explorer (e.g., Baltic Jewels & Midnight Sun and British Isles & Iceland Explorer went up or down, as well).  Three TA cruises were added:  Mediterranean to Caribbean Sojourn and Mediterranean & South Atlantic in 2024; and Atlantic & Mediterranean Horizons in 2025.

VE:  Additional sailings in 2024 of Longitudinal World Cruise II, Canada & the Atlantic Coastline, and Panama & South America.

 

Refer to the Log Notes tab for a complete description of these changes.  Also -- I didn't notice until this week --  that the number of sailings of Alaska & the Inside Passage in 2024 has nearly doubled from 12 to 22 because Mars will be joining Orion. This change happened last February.

 

If you already have a copy of this spreadsheet -- just use the link provided in the ReadMe tab to update what you have. If not,  download a copy of this file from my DropBox folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0. No DropBox account required.

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by CharTrav

[BluebonnetTexan]

In case no one has expressed it lately - we really appreciate you doing this! 😍 

I do have two questions 1) shouldn't the Viking World Voyage I & Viking World Voyage II on the Sky be labelled as "World" cruises instead of "Grand" in the Region column? 2) Is there a way to denote the cruises that are actually comprised of shorter segments also sold separately? For example, the 29-day Mediterranean's Iconic Shores is actually 4 8-day segments. And, all the various 15-day and 22-day versions contained there-in. It seems lots of folks sign up for these longer versions not realizing it is really a series of B2Bs.

Just a thought! Thanks again so much for doing this! 

Nancy

[CharTrav]

On 5/9/2023 at 2:46 PM, BluebonnetTexan said:

Is there a way to denote the cruises that are actually comprised of shorter segments also sold separately? For example, the 29-day Mediterranean's Iconic Shores is actually 4 8-day segments. And, all the various 15-day and 22-day versions contained there-in. It seems lots of folks sign up for these longer versions not realizing it is really a series of B2Bs

Actually I do. If you look at the column way way down on the right (beyond the columns for 2025) you'll find stuff like MIS etc (the codes are listed on the ReadMe page) that allow you to filter the spreadsheet to display all the segments/variants within, e.g., Mediterranean Iconic Shores (MIS). Perhaps I should explain that more clearly on the ReadMe tab. Thought I had but let me look at it again and see what I can do to clarify that caoability. 

 

Yeah - maybe I should re-examine my cruise categories (Grand, Med, etc) to align better with how VO does it now. Will consider. Have tried to replicate the VO categories. 

 

 

This thing really does continue to be a work in progress altho not as much as at the beginning. Now it's little tweaks here and there. 

Edited May 13, 2023 by CharTrav

[BluebonnetTexan]

Duh! I kept missing that line about the Group column in the ReadMe! I thought I'd remembered you had the multi-segment cruises covered. I never scrolled far enough right recently either, obviously! It might be a good idea to add the info to the ReadMe, since the info is so far back in the LogNotes now, and hidden by default. 

 

Also, there's a new group - the Greenland, Iceland, Norway & Beyond cruise, is actually comprised of the Iceland & Norway's Arctic Explorer and Iconic Iceland, Greenland & Canada. Might be some others, I'm just aware of this one because we are doing Iconic Iceland, Greenland & Canada later this year. 

 

Again - you do an awesome job on compiling this info for us! 

[CharTrav]

51 minutes ago, BluebonnetTexan said:

Duh! I kept missing that line about the Group column in the ReadMe! I thought I'd remembered you had the multi-segment cruises covered. I never scrolled far enough right recently either, obviously! It might be a good idea to add the info to the ReadMe, since the info is so far back in the LogNotes now, and hidden by default. 

 

Also, there's a new group - the Greenland, Iceland, Norway & Beyond cruise, is actually comprised of the Iceland & Norway's Arctic Explorer and Iconic Iceland, Greenland & Canada. Might be some others, I'm just aware of this one because we are doing Iconic Iceland, Greenland & Canada later this year. 

 

Again - you do an awesome job on compiling this info for us! 

Thanks for the suggestions. Will address soon and post. 

[CCWineLover]

Good point!  We are doing the first segment this June (NYC-Reykjavik) and the 2nd segment (the other direction) (Bergen-Reykjavik) in 2024.   AND, we are actually starting in Bergen on the Mars and doing Barcelona to Bergen to Reykavik (B2B).

 

One more thing I do hear a lot from people about B2B cruises and segments - Viking likely should do a better job communicating this.  People aren't aware that at the segment junctions (like Reykjavik, Rome, Venice, Athens, and others), where some people get off and new passengers get on . . .   Viking doesn't advance publish excursions for those that say on.  When onboard, however, Viking usually does provide some excursions for those that do stay on the ship (like in those cities).  Someone the other day was very upset there were no excursions for the major city of Reykjavik and I had to explain that because they were continuing on to Bergen while many got off, there was nothing pre-published, but they would certainly have something when onboard.

[CharTrav]

On 5/13/2023 at 12:47 PM, CCWineLover said:

Good point!  We are doing the first segment this June (NYC-Reykjavik) and the 2nd segment (the other direction) (Bergen-Reykjavik) in 2024.   AND, we are actually starting in Bergen on the Mars and doing Barcelona to Bergen to Reykavik (B2B).

 

One more thing I do hear a lot from people about B2B cruises and segments - Viking likely should do a better job communicating this.  People aren't aware that at the segment junctions (like Reykjavik, Rome, Venice, Athens, and others), where some people get off and new passengers get on . . .   Viking doesn't advance publish excursions for those that say on.  When onboard, however, Viking usually does provide some excursions for those that do stay on the ship (like in those cities).  Someone the other day was very upset there were no excursions for the major city of Reykjavik and I had to explain that because they were continuing on to Bergen while many got off, there was nothing pre-published, but they would certainly have something when onboard.

Agree here. I describe this in the notes on the consolidated reports I publish for the Cruises we've booked. Viking only describes this "feature" in the excursion report sent to passengers with an active booking after their MVJ begins to display their excursions. Not very helpful to folks who haven't made a booking at all.  Something to add to their FAQ page? Maybe I'll send that sugggestion to Customer Relations after I double check the FAQ page to make sure it's not already there.