Any previous cruisers- Komodo & The Australian Coast

[DesertCruiser2000]

We are booked on Viking Orion March 20 - April 5, 2020 Sidney to Bali.  I'm looking for any feedback from those who have been on this cruise.  It can be the Bali to Sydney way too as it's mostly the same.  I know there was cruise this past March 2019 and would like to hear from anyone on that cruise.  Would like to know what excursions you did, pros and cons; port tips as too docking or tending and how long you were at port.  Any info will be more than we have now.  Thanks!

 

Also I noted that there was someone from Tucson, AZ.  Can't remember CC username, but peaked my interest as we are in Tucson, too.  It seems I can't find these posts any more so I don't know where I came upon your posts.

[stretchcruz]

That's me. We were on from Auckland to Bali. I've been working nonstop since we got back except when we got home (I was very ill, I picked up something in Bali and got salmonella and campylobacter jejuni) I haven't done a review yet and I was too ill before I got back to work. But I will work on my review and let you know my thoughts. If you look back on the thread from the cruise I did post a lot of things that I will probably just copy and paste in a review. I can tell you that it was VERY HOT!! VERY VERY HOT! We were on the last cruise, which should have been fall, but for those of from Tucson it was HOT. The humidity just killed me. The temps weren't bad, but as soon as I went outside the sweat formed. I drank 8 bottles of water and never peed. I will look back, and do a review when I can, but if you look at the live from I posted quite a bit. I loved the ship, the staff, the service...I was just WAY TOO HOT!!

[Heidi13]

You should be aware that we have read that Komodo Island is closing effective Jan 1st 2020. We have sent a note to the World Cruise desk asking about alternative plans, but have not yet received a response.

[DesertCruiser2000]

14 hours ago, stretchcruz said:

That's me. We were on from Auckland to Bali. I've been working nonstop since we got back except when we got home (I was very ill, I picked up something in Bali and got salmonella and campylobacter jejuni) I haven't done a review yet and I was too ill before I got back to work. But I will work on my review and let you know my thoughts. If you look back on the thread from the cruise I did post a lot of things that I will probably just copy and paste in a review. I can tell you that it was VERY HOT!! VERY VERY HOT! We were on the last cruise, which should have been fall, but for those of from Tucson it was HOT. The humidity just killed me. The temps weren't bad, but as soon as I went outside the sweat formed. I drank 8 bottles of water and never peed. I will look back, and do a review when I can, but if you look at the live from I posted quite a bit. I loved the ship, the staff, the service...I was just WAY TOO HOT!!

So sorry to hear about the illnesses.  It's no fun to end an adventure with illness.  I thank you for posting a review.  I"ll try again to find you posts of on the cruise.  I have a tendency to get lost on these boards.  😕  Hot, that's funny coming from someone who lives in our environment.  But I can appreciate that the hot is probably more from the humidity which I'm not a fan of.  I will share with my cruise mates know your comments.  Welcome home and look forward to hearing from you.

[DesertCruiser2000]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

You should be aware that we have read that Komodo Island is closing effective Jan 1st 2020. We have sent a note to the World Cruise desk asking about alternative plans, but have not yet received a response.

Thanks for the insight.  Didn't know.  I'm sure Viking is researching alternatives.  As they have advance notice vs. the short notice they gave us of our change of itinerary with our Turkey ports a couple of years ago the week after bombing in Istanbul.  We didn't stay around Istanbul, but left as soon as we embarked and went to a different port for the evening.   We'll see what they come up with.

[stretchcruz]

Here was the live thread:

 

 

[harbourside]

Did you do the included tour in Lombok.  It seems to drop you at a beach and leave you for 3 hours.  Did you have the option of returning earlier.  Don't think I want to spend 3 hours at the beach or shopping.

[stretchcruz]

No, we hired a private guide ahead of time. It was well worth it. The people on the included tour were NOT happy!! We used  https://www.rinjanitransport.com/

 

Our driver, unfortunately, did not speak great English. However, we tag teamed with another van that had 2 fellow cruisers in it and that driver spoke excellent English. We went to rice fields, an historic village that was still occupied by many many people, saw a show at that village, went to a beach, and a bunch of other things that I don't remember right now. I would recommend that company, but be sure that they understand that you need a driver who speaks English. It was just my husband and I in our van and then the van ahead of us. They met us at the pier and returned us at the appointed time. It was SO reasonable.

 

 

 

 

[harbourside]

Thanks.  On reading about the included tour, it seemed a waste of time.  A sight seeing bus tour would have been preferable.

[CCWineLover]

On 5/2/2019 at 4:35 PM, DesertCruiser2000 said:

We are booked on Viking Orion March 20 - April 5, 2020 Sidney to Bali.  I'm looking for any feedback from those who have been on this cruise.  It can be the Bali to Sydney way too as it's mostly the same.  I know there was cruise this past March 2019 and would like to hear from anyone on that cruise.  Would like to know what excursions you did, pros and cons; port tips as too docking or tending and how long you were at port.  Any info will be more than we have now.  Thanks!

 

Also I noted that there was someone from Tucson, AZ.  Can't remember CC username, but peaked my interest as we are in Tucson, too.  It seems I can't find these posts any more so I don't know where I came upon your posts.

 

Thanks for the great question, DesertCruiser2000 - and thanks to the answers so far.  We are taking this exact cruise as well but a year later in March 2021.   Will enjoy hearing your reports as well!

[Little Monty]

On 5/3/2019 at 9:35 AM, DesertCruiser2000 said:

 

 

Also I noted that there was someone from Tucson, AZ.  Can't remember CC username, but peaked my interest as we are in Tucson, too.  It seems I can't find these posts any more so I don't know where I came upon your posts.

 

Would the Tucson CC member you refer to be Mr Jim Avery ? I'm not sure which posts you refer to - but Jim was on the 2018 World Cruise which spent time in the area in question. Jim is a regular on these boards so he might see this reference and chip in. LM

[Little Monty]

Apologies .. I just realised Jim might be Phoenix rather than Tucson - so I probably haven't been any help 😏

[stretchcruz]

I'm the one from Tucson.....

[DesertCruiser2000]

Thanks for all the input from others.  I'm hoping that Viking has seriously taken to heart feedback and do some changes.  When we were on the Mediterranean cruise a few years back (the first year of Viking Sky) the included excursions were great!  We even had to leave Istanbul a day early for security reasons and went in another port in Turkey to visit.  

In the mean time I might start doing some research and get input from others of private excursions they went on and liked.

[Heidi13]

On 5/3/2019 at 9:48 AM, Heidi13 said:

You should be aware that we have read that Komodo Island is closing effective Jan 1st 2020. We have sent a note to the World Cruise desk asking about alternative plans, but have not yet received a response.

Received a call from the World Cruise desk regarding update on Komodo Island. They are discussing the issue, but have not received confirmation from the Government that the island will actually be closed. They promised to keep us posted.

 

[deec]

I wonder how the villagers who supplement their income with "souvenir" hawking or the guides will do once the island is closed to tourists?

[Heidi13]

Deec - this very topic was brought during our call from the cruise desk. They mentioned that very point. Don't think the government will be popular with the locals is they close the island for up to a year.

[SM77]

Hi Folks, 

 

I was the other passenger, in addition to Stretchcruz, that posted live on the Orion in March 2019.  I haven't been on the  Boards lately.  Like Stretchcruz, I came home sick w/ bronchitis and other respiratory issues.  All the tropical flora, mildew and mold aggravated my asthma and allergies so I was sick for almost a month.  If you have any allergy issues, make sure you have additional allergy meds.

 

I think if you read that live Orion post, it would cover most of our experiences.  I still haven't written an official review but we had a fabulous time.  If you are starting w/ Sydney,  make sure you come in a couple of days early - I was sorry that we were in Sydney for just a day and a half.  There is so much to see.  We started in Auckland and ended in Bali.  I would agree w/ Stretchcruz, once we headed north past Sydney it got unbearably hot and humid.  Once we did Komodo Island (which was a once in a lifetime experience), we skipped the Lombok excursion & stayed on the ship. We had scheduled a post-extension stay in Bali and figured we would see enough there.  I had heard from some that depending on the tour guide/bus driver, some Lombok tours did stop at a mosque or temple in addition to going up to the shopping area.  

 

Regarding the Bali post extension Viking did the all day tour of Bali the day we got off the ship which worked well since we were getting off the ship (and not jet-lagged) and had a full long day tour.  Quite frankly a number of us were toured out after five weeks from Auckland to Bali so many of us on that bus tour said that we were just going to hang out by the pool the following day of the post extension before heading home.

 

If I did this cruise again, I would have gone from Bali to Sydney to Auckland, going from very hot weather to a more comfortable temperatures.  

 

I hope Viking will be able to make other arrangements to see Komodo dragons since Komodo Island will be closed to tourists.  I think there are two other islands that have the Komodo dragon as well.  Going to Komodo Island was the main reason to sail all the way up to Bali.  From my perspective, once we went up to Whitsunday Islands(and the Great Barrier Reef), that was about the most northern part of Australia that I was interested in.  We skipped Thursday Island (which would have been really interesting) due to a cyclone chasing us.  It was too hot and humid by that point and touring was not as comfortable.  

[Heidi13]

While the Government still says they are closing Komodo Island next year, nothing has been confirmed, as they are getting significant push back from the locals.

 

While we have already had 3 ports cancelled on next year's cruise, Komodo is still on the schedule. Still hoping to visit the island.