Viking Ocean - Combined Cruise Schedule

[CharTrav]

Dang!  The 2026 schedule is still churning. That or I was really bad when I was entering stuff yesterday. Sail dates on one cruise at least have changed since yesterday. Maybe I should wait a week to let the web site settle down.  🙄

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, CharTrav said:

 No maiden voyage for you @Peregrina651

 

😭

 

But it is the second ship of the new class. Based on the first few of the first class, I am not ready to give up hope. Viking Vela was floated out at the end November and is due to be turned over sometime in 2024.

[CharTrav]

Decided not to wait a full week given that it seems like the schedule has reached a steady state .. for now.  Just uploaded the 2024-2026 edition of the spreadsheet.  To be thorough, uploaded the final version of the 2023-2025 edition yesterday, which contains updates through 1 Dec 2023.  As always, if you already have a copy of the spreadsheet, use the link on the ReadMe tab to access the folder containing the 2024-2026 edition (Viking Ocean & Expedition Cruises (2024 to 2026).xlsm).  If you're new to this thread, use this link to download the file (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/062f9aow9gvpfr9oruzji/Viking-Ocean-Expedition-Cruises-2024-to-2026.xlsm?rlkey=x2hrknzryauv1xd4b1ksji4op&dl=0).  No DropBox account required.  As I update this spreadsheet over the coming year -- use the links provided in the ReadMe tab to get a fresh copy.

 

Changes since last big spreadsheet upload:

VO (Viking Ocean)

* 2 ships added to the Ocean fleet:  Vesta - a sister ship to the Vela and the Yi Dun. 

    - Yi Dun is the reflagged Viking Sun, which was transferred to a joint venture with China in 2021. She sails along China's coast between Beijing and Hong Kong via Shanghai and is only scheduled (for now) between Sept and Nov 2024.

    - Vela & Vesta scheduled into September 2026 with first sails in Dec '24 and Jul '25, respectively.

* Star, Sea, Sky, Orion, Jupiter, & Neptune: scheduled into August 2026

   - Sea is scheduled to join Orion in Alaska in 2025 & 2026

   - Sky has a gap between Dec '25 and May '26 that I'm guessing will be filled by a World Cruise given she will be in Ft Lauderdale in Dec '25

* Venus & Saturn scheduled into September 2026

   - Venus is scheduled to join Orion in Australia traveling from the Med  starting late 2024 thru 2026

* Mars scheduled into early October 2026 (only cruise that month so far)

* Itineraries added:

   - China Discovery, Classic China & the Coast, and Wonders of China (Yi Dun only)

   - Caribbean & Panama Canal

VE (Viking Expeditions)

* From the Arctic to Antarctica has been repurposed:  lengthened from 47 to 87 days and travels to Ushuaia starting from Nuuk, Greenland rather than Tromsø, Norway.

* Itineraries added:

   - Antarctica, Chile & the Americas  and The Americas, Chile & Antarctic, segments of Longitudinal World Cruise V and From the Arctic to Antarctica, respectively.

  - Great Lakes Treasures, Niagara & Great Lakes Treasures, and Panama Canal & the Americas

* Octantis and Polaris scheduled into Oct '26 and Sep '26, respectively.

Edited December 27, 2023 by CharTrav

[bookbabe]

16 hours ago, CharTrav said:

 

   - Sky has a gap between Dec '25 and May '26 that I'm guessing will be filled by a World Cruise given she will be in Ft Lauderdale in Dec '25

 

Out of curiosity, where is Sky scheduled to be in May?  Just wondering what the likely start and end ports for the world cruise might be?

[ssaxsma]

I see that the two new Great Lakes itineraries stop in Chicago. I believe that’s the first time the ships themselves are going there rather than just via an extension. As a local, I’m very curious where they will be docking.

[CharTrav]

57 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Out of curiosity, where is Sky scheduled to be in May?  Just wondering what the likely start and end ports for the world cruise might be?

London (Greenwich). She starts British Isles Explorer on May 6, 2026. 

[CharTrav]

4 hours ago, bookbabe said:

Out of curiosity, where is Sky scheduled to be in May?  Just wondering what the likely start and end ports for the world cruise might be?

Actually - thanks for inspiring me to look at May '26 for the Sky. Would have reduced my earlier guess to a near certainty. 

[Azulann]

21 hours ago, CharTrav said:

- Vela & Vesta scheduled into September 2026 with first sails in Dec '24 and Jul '25, respectively.

I just changed our  sailing for Gr Odyessy  in FEb. 2025( Viking Star) to April 2026 and we will be on the new Vesta!!!!!

Looking forward to being on  one of the new builds.

[JM0115]

On 12/27/2023 at 2:30 PM, CharTrav said:

Decided not to wait a full week given that it seems like the schedule has reached a steady state .. for now.  Just uploaded the 2024-2026 edition of the spreadsheet.  To be thorough, uploaded the final version of the 2023-2025 edition yesterday, which contains updates through 1 Dec 2023.  As always, if you already have a copy of the spreadsheet, use the link on the ReadMe tab to access the folder containing the 2024-2026 edition (Viking Ocean & Expedition Cruises (2024 to 2026).xlsm).  If you're new to this thread, use this link to download the file (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/062f9aow9gvpfr9oruzji/Viking-Ocean-Expedition-Cruises-2024-to-2026.xlsm?rlkey=x2hrknzryauv1xd4b1ksji4op&dl=0).  No DropBox account required.  As I update this spreadsheet over the coming year -- use the links provided in the ReadMe tab to get a fresh copy.

 

Changes since last big spreadsheet upload:

VO (Viking Ocean)

* 2 ships added to the Ocean fleet:  Vesta - a sister ship to the Vela and the Yi Dun. 

    - Yi Dun is the reflagged Viking Sun, which was transferred to a joint venture with China in 2021. She sails along China's coast between Beijing and Hong Kong via Shanghai and is only scheduled (for now) between Sept and Nov 2024.

    - Vela & Vesta scheduled into September 2026 with first sails in Dec '24 and Jul '25, respectively.

* Star, Sea, Sky, Orion, Jupiter, & Neptune: scheduled into August 2026

   - Sea is scheduled to join Orion in Alaska in 2025 & 2026

   - Sky has a gap between Dec '25 and May '26 that I'm guessing will be filled by a World Cruise given she will be in Ft Lauderdale in Dec '25

* Venus & Saturn scheduled into September 2026

   - Venus is scheduled to join Orion in Australia traveling from the Med  starting late 2024 thru 2026

* Mars scheduled into early October 2026 (only cruise that month so far)

* Itineraries added:

   - China Discovery, Classic China & the Coast, and Wonders of China (Yi Dun only)

   - Caribbean & Panama Canal

VE (Viking Expeditions)

* From the Arctic to Antarctica has been repurposed:  lengthened from 47 to 87 days and travels to Ushuaia starting from Nuuk, Greenland rather than Tromsø, Norway.

* Itineraries added:

   - Antarctica, Chile & the Americas  and The Americas, Chile & Antarctic, segments of Longitudinal World Cruise V and From the Arctic to Antarctica, respectively.

  - Great Lakes Treasures, Niagara & Great Lakes Treasures, and Panama Canal & the Americas

* Octantis and Polaris scheduled into Oct '26 and Sep '26, respectively.

Does anyone know what changes they made to the Sun to make it the Yi Dun? Are the crew mostly from China? Food chinese influenced? Is it mainly for the Chinese market or US?

[CharTrav]

26 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

Does anyone know what changes they made to the Sun to make it the Yi Dun? Are the crew mostly from China? Food chinese influenced? Is it mainly for the Chinese market or US?

Good question. I've been wondering too. You might try posting your question to the explorer's Lounge thread. 

[JM0115]

2 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

Good question. I've been wondering too. You might try posting your question to the explorer's Lounge thread. 

Will do. Thank you.

[Peregrina651]

7 hours ago, JM0115 said:

Does anyone know what changes they made to the Sun to make it the Yi Dun? Are the crew mostly from China? Food chinese influenced? Is it mainly for the Chinese market or US?

 

I just posted an answer to your question in The Virtual Explorers Lounge.

[Peregrina651]

On 12/28/2023 at 2:05 PM, Azulann said:

April 2026 and we will be on the new Vesta!!!!!

 

We are booked on Malta, Morocco and Med (can we just refer to this as 3M?) for Jan, 2026 on the Vesta. I was hoping we might be the maiden voyage but Char says they are on the schedule starting summer, 2025. 😒 Oh, well.

 

So, now we have to wait for CC to add Vesta to the list of roll calls. Maybe its time we give them a nudge?

 

Vela Roll Call forum is open: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2693-viking-vela-roll-calls/

 

 

[CharTrav]

FYI -- have just uploaded the updated spreadsheets for Ship Classes, Cabin Classes, and ShoreEx Costs.  If you already have a copy of these spreadsheets, just use the link provided within each to get a fresh copy.  Otherwise use the link provided earlier for the schedule -- basically the DropBox folder I use for general Viking stuff --

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0

[Peregrina651]

On 1/4/2024 at 11:13 PM, Peregrina651 said:

So, now we have to wait for CC to add Vesta to the list of roll calls. Maybe its time we give them a nudge?

 

I gave them a nudge and the Viking Vesta has been added to the Viking Oceans Roll Call forum.

 

Viking Vesta Roll Calls 

 

 

[Azulann]

54 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

I gave them a nudge and the Viking Vesta has been added to the Viking Oceans Roll Call forum.

 

Viking Vesta Roll Calls 

 

 

Thank you so much !  I have a cruise in 2026 on Vesta , but I have not even started a roll call for my viking Sea in 2025....I think I will wait a bit to start a roll call for my sailing....😊

Edited January 18 by Azulann

[CCWineLover]

7 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

I gave them a nudge and the Viking Vesta has been added to the Viking Oceans Roll Call forum.

 

Viking Vesta Roll Calls 

 

 

Thank so much, Andrea!

I went ahead and put our March Malta cruise on, and also following yours.

Kent

[Peregrina651]

I will reciprocate. 

[CharTrav]

11 hours ago, Azulann said:

Thank you so much !  I have a cruise in 2026 on Vesta , but I have not even started a roll call for my viking Sea in 2025....I think I will wait a bit to start a roll call for my sailing....😊

Finding or creating a roll call is one of the  first things I do after booking a cruise. It's part of my standard ToDo list. 😎

[Peregrina651]

34 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

Finding or creating a roll call is one of the  first things I do after booking a cruise. It's part of my standard ToDo list. 😎

 

Mine, too: Book cruise. Find/start roll call. Mark calendar. Open folders in my e-mail, my computer, Fences and Evernote That is why this one on Vesta feels so weird -- no place to even start a roll call and my 2026 calendar calendar is not in print yet. I booked while on the road and the preliminaries had to wait until we got home 5 days later.

[CCWineLover]

9 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Mine, too: Book cruise. Find/start roll call. Mark calendar. Open folders in my e-mail, my computer, Fences and Evernote That is why this one on Vesta feels so weird -- no place to even start a roll call and my 2026 calendar calendar is not in print yet. I booked while on the road and the preliminaries had to wait until we got home 5 days later.

Same here @Peregrina651

I have a step by step process.  I guess too many years working in IT has ingrained data organizational habits 🙂

 

[CharTrav]

3 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Same here @Peregrina651

I have a step by step process.  I guess too many years working in IT has ingrained data organizational habits 🙂

 

I use a mobile app called ToDo Cloud in which I have a vacation template that I duplicate, rename, and then populate for each new trip. I too am a retired IT/Info Systems person. 🙂 

[CharTrav]

Just uploaded a revised version of the spreadsheet.  Just a few changes:

(1) Cities of Antiquity & the Holy Land replaced by Cities of Antiquity in 2024 and in Feb 2025.  Heavily modified itinerary with same duration that excludes Israel or goes anywhere close to it.  This change was made earlier this month but I didn't want to call it out, assuming that folks affected by the change were being notified.

(2) for VO -- Viking World Cruise and Viking World Journey scheduled for Dec 2025 and Jan 2026, respectively, on the Sky.

(3) for VE -- From the Arctic to Antarctica scheduled for Polaris in Sept 2026.

As always -- if you already have a copy -- use the DropBox link provided on the ReadMe tab to download a fresh copy.  If you don't already have it, download it from this DropBox folder - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0.

[CharTrav]

15 hours ago, CharTrav said:

Sky.

(3) for VE -- From the Arctic to Antarctica scheduled for Polaris in Sept 2026.

I would expect that the intermediate segments of this 87 day itinerary will be published in the near future. Will keep an eye on it. Expect that Octantis' transition from the Great Lakes to Antarctica in 2026 will also be scheduled soon. 

Edited January 22 by CharTrav

[CharTrav]

Haven't uploaded the updated spreadsheet for this single change but will post this last minute change to the VO schedule.  A new 20 day cruise - Iberian & Mediterranean Odyssey -- starting in London and ending in Venice -- has been added for Saturn and Vela in Oct 2025.  If you want, I'll upload it but would rather wait until I've got more changes.