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Viking Venus Maiden Voyage


Haworth
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I'm sure there will be some interesting 'maiden voyage' experiences and - as you said - perhaps a few surprises. It truly is very likely a once-in-a-lifetime chance; however, there's just no way I'll do it for only the 7 days. I'll probably go with either pre/post extensions or else by doing a B2B with the "Iberian Explorer" cruise beginning 1/26. That option has increasing appeal to me. That way it makes it at least 2 weeks - much better reason to fly that far. 

 

I'm jumping the gun on all this however...first we need to see how we react during another cruise. We'll find that out within the next few months. I have many days when, for no apparent reason, the recollection of standing on deck 10 with that harness around me - freezing cold, wind blowing fiercely, waiting for and then watching the last bit of slack go out of the rope - just intrudes into my consciousness quite substantially. During such episodes I'm still occasionally reduced to tears. I can relive that moment like it was yesterday. I have never been so scared or frightened. It's just another of those times that surely appears to be scorched into my mind like a few other events including nearly getting killed in a head-on crash back in '78. Same thing applies - it has secured a seemingly indelible place in my memory and is as vivid now as 5 months ago. 

 

Our next cruise is in the north atlantic, so we'll see how we react if things get a bit rough. It'd be most unfortunate if the events of March 22-23 have put a permanent damper on any future cruising where there are rough seas. We know we need to get back on a ship, but as the next cruise looms ever closer, I do have some uneasiness about it. I'm actually more concerned about my wife than for myself since I think it'll be harder for her to deal with. Time will tell. 

Edited by OnTheJourney
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What really worries me about the next cruise is how I'll cope with the lifeboat drill from the standpoint of being exposed to people who are demonstrating inattention or other manner of disinterest. I'll have to bite my tongue lest I wind up verbally upbraiding some poor unsuspecting passenger. I've been advised to get there really early so as to have less opportunity to observe immature behavior from behind a crowd. Probably good idea. 

Edited by OnTheJourney
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So our Venus cruise is from 1/18 to 1/25. The following cruise, from Barcelona to London, is from 1/26 to 2/2. Can’t really do a back-to-back cruise, unless somehow Viking let’s people spend the night of 1/25 on board. Otherwise, you’d disembark, grab a hotel for that night, then check back in the next day. And no assurance that whatever cabin the Chairman assigns for the free cruise (presumably, whichever cabin you had in March on the Sky) would be available for the 2nd cruise, since cabins on that cruise have been on sale for a while now. But it is an interesting proposition! Would cost less than the amount of one person’s voucher that we got for our troubles. Hmmmm......

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You're right....I'm not thinking straight about the B2B idea. Most of them transition on the same day. Uncertain that they'd let people stay onboard since the ship needs to be cleaned, etc. and gotten ready for the next sailing - although I have heard of this being done (pax staying on board in-between 2 sailings that are close together). Still, it'd be easily done with a hotel night as you mentioned. I realize about having to likely change rooms for the 2nd cruise. It's all just an idea. I'm mostly looking for ways to extend the trip without arriving in Rome early on my own. Too soon to really wrack the brain on this since there are so many details not presented to us yet. I'm hoping for a Rome pre-cruise extension, but that only brings the trip to 9 days. Or, if there is enough to see in Barcelona, could add a post extension. I'm really thinking, though, that there won't be any extensions offered unless the cruise is eventually opened to the public. I'm done with this for the time being. Way over-analyzing without having all the facts. 

 

Had not thought either about having the same cabins - still not used to the idea of how these Viking ships are all built to the same specs. That would seem the logical way to do it. 

 

Curious...did you stay on board the Sky or airlift? 

Edited by OnTheJourney
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We had assumed that we would/ will be allocated the same cabin number, for any number of reasons there probably won’t be a 100% uptake of the free cruise and that will leave some empty cabins, will Viking fill them with VIP or other invited guests or leave them empty?

 

It’s  a hard call for them as this will be a unique cruise for lots of reasons and I am sure non Sky guests would feel a little out of place.

 

I also agree that the Chairman will have one or two surprises up his sleeve for us.

 

 

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I'd be really surprised if the Sky guests filled the Venus - somehow seems unlikely as you say. From what I've read, on some of these inaugural / special sailings they do indeed invite VIPs or others. Never thought about general public feeling out of place on such a sailing, but I can see where that could happen as well. Thing is, though, how much of the cruise will truly be devoted to providing special activities and attention to just the Sky guests? May not be as much of that as we might think. First thing (one of the potential surprises) REALLY should be that everyone gets a shirt upon embarkation saying something like "I survived the Sky" along with the date or some such. I think that'd be awesome AND would be a way to identify each other (unless of course we fill the ship). I've half a mind to email Mr. Hagen just to ask whether or not there might be some provision for guests wanting to do a B2B. I'm sure this thought has already crossed his mind anyway and so they might arrive at some means of offering it. I'd like to ask him also if there will be pre / post extensions. His initial communications always mentioned that we can feel free to email him. 

 

This situation provides some interesting logistical issues for them and may be somewhat unique in the history of Viking (or cruising in general?). An interesting study would be to know if this has happened before - that the pax from a particular sailing was invited on a future cruise for whatever reason. 

Edited by OnTheJourney
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Just emailed Mr. Hagen, again thanking him for not just this wonderfully generous opportunity but also for all that was done for the Sky guests back in March. I did go on to mention that it would be great if some provision was made for the possibility of also doing the Iberian Explorer trip - and also inquired as to whether or not there might be a pre/post extension offered. Figured it doesn't hurt to ask - and he certainly deserves to hear from us (again) thanking him and Viking for this truly unique opportunity. 

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  • 1 month later...

Just found out that there is a planetarium on the newest ships - so Venus is supposed to have one also. It's on the upper deck of the Explorer lounge - so there is some mixed feeling (and reviews of shows) as to whether the use of the area required for it was worth it. Looking forward to seeing what it's like, especially having an interest in all things space-related. 

Edited by OnTheJourney
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On 10/3/2019 at 11:55 AM, OnTheJourney said:

Just found out that there is a planetarium on the newest ships - so Venus is supposed to have one also. It's on the upper deck of the Explorer lounge - so there is some mixed feeling (and reviews of shows) as to whether the use of the area required for it was worth it. Looking forward to seeing what it's like, especially having an interest in all things space-related.

This article from last year reports a Viking marketing rep as saying that planetariums may or may not be installed on other new almost identical ships. Has there been a more recent announcement about Viking Venus features?  Of course, given the secrecy with which Viking created the Orion planetarium, it's possible that the Venus may have its own unique installation. So much to look forward to. 

 

Edited by JDincalif
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  • 3 months later...
12 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Is anyone else starting to wonder if this invitational cruise is actually going to take place? Really thought we'd hear a bit more about it by now from Viking. 

I would hope that once the window opens for flight bookings then more information will be forthcoming, we do need some solid information soon

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8 hours ago, Haworth said:

I would hope that once the window opens for flight bookings then more information will be forthcoming, we do need some solid information soon

 

Agree completely. I'm thinking also of people who may want to turn this into a B2B by booking the Iberian Explorer. Surely the rooms are starting to fill with the departure date only being a bit more than a year away. We booked the same room we had on the Sky, so assuming that we'd get the same rooms on the Venus. I'm probably just too anxious, but seriously thought we'd hear more by now. 

Edited by OnTheJourney
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12 hours ago, johneb2 said:

We just received an email requesting we update our info, since our passport had changed.  We noticed that we are now confirmed for the trip, and have the same cabin we had on the Viking Sky.    JohnEB2


what was the sender’s email address? 

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12 hours ago, johneb2 said:

We just received an email requesting we update our info, since our passport had changed.  We noticed that we are now confirmed for the trip, and have the same cabin we had on the Viking Sky.    JohnEB2

 

John I'm presuming you're talking about the Barcelona to London trip post our Venus launch cruise?

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Actually it is Rome to Barcelona, according to the itinerary.   The email I received is from notifications@vikingcruises.com.  We had to update our PIF due to a passport change.  On the initial page it had our booking#, stateroom etc. for the Venus invitational cruise.  Below is the port schedule.

DAY 1   Rome, Italy   PORT DEPARTURE: 11:00 PM

DAY 2   Florence/Pisa, Italy   PORT ARRIVAL: 9:00 AM

DAY 3   Florence/Pisa, Italy   PORT DEPARTURE: 6:00 PM

DAY 4   Monte Carlo, Monaco   PORT ARRIVAL: 8:00 AM   PORT DEPARTURE: 9:00 PM

DAY 5   Marseille, France   PORT ARRIVAL: 8:00 AM   PORT DEPARTURE: 6:00 PM

DAY 6   Montpellier (Sète), France   PORT ARRIVAL: 8:00 AM   PORT DEPARTURE: 9:00 PM

DAY 7   Barcelona, Spain   PORT ARRIVAL: 8:00 AM

 JohnEB2

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Has Viking previously asked you whether you are accepting the offer of the cruise John? I'm amazed that we haven't all heard at the same time and I fully expected that we would receive detail before an assumption is made that we are going.

 

Well well, time will tell. Either way the itinerary sounds fab, what a delight!

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1 hour ago, DGHOC said:

Has Viking previously asked you whether you are accepting the offer of the cruise?

 

Yeah, really...wouldn't that be a logical first step?  John - had you gotten previous correspondence to determine whether or not you were actually going on the invitational?  I will consult with my Viking rep on Monday to try and find out more. 

Edited by OnTheJourney
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36 minutes ago, JDincalif said:

John - Do you book directly with Viking, or do you use a TA? Just wondering if we should check with our TA to see if she's received similar information.

 

I booked the Iberian Explorer with my Viking agent, so will see if he knows anymore about the invitational cruise. I'm confused by all this, since Viking needs to first ascertain who even wants to go on the invitational. 

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3 hours ago, JDincalif said:

John - Do you book directly with Viking, or do you use a TA? Just wondering if we should check with our TA to see if she's received similar information.

I booked through my TA.   She had the info on her Viking TA portal page.  I am sure it is available on any TA’s access who booked the original Viking Sky trip.  I could be wrong though.  The only way I became aware of the info was when she said there was a booking number assigned to it   She then gave me the port info.  There was not much more info than that.  If I find out anymore I will post it.   Johneb2

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9 hours ago, DGHOC said:

Has Viking previously asked you whether you are accepting the offer of the cruise John? I'm amazed that we haven't all heard at the same time and I fully expected that we would receive detail before an assumption is made that we are going.

 

Well well, time will tell. Either way the itinerary sounds fab, what a delight!

Viking didn’t ask me if I accepted the offer. However when the offer was first extended to us I wrote Mr Hagen thanking him for it and that we were looking forward to it.  I assumed (maybe incorrectly) that is the reason I wasn’t asked.    Johneb2

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4 hours ago, johneb2 said:

Viking didn’t ask me if I accepted the offer. However when the offer was first extended to us I wrote Mr Hagen thanking him for it and that we were looking forward to it.  I assumed (maybe incorrectly) that is the reason I wasn’t asked.    Johneb2

Just checked back on my emails, we also mailed back to accept the invitation, no other details received to date, do like the posted itinerary 

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