Viking Expeditions Thread

[deec]

We are doing an Antarctic Expedition this winter.  I will not be dressing for dinner like I usually do on Ocean Cruises.  There just will NOT be room in the luggage!  Black slacks and a couple of warm tops probably NO jewelry, one pair of ballet flats.  I imagine my husband will take one pair of slacks and long sleeved polos, perhaps a button down shirt and he will NOT be wearing a ball cap ( one of biggest peeves in any of eating venues.)   But I am not sure why jeans are easier than a pair of slacks to wear in the dining room. Plus jeans take so long to dry!

[Clay Clayton]

1 minute ago, deec said:

We are doing an Antarctic Expedition this winter.  I will not be dressing for dinner like I usually do on Ocean Cruises.  There just will NOT be room in the luggage!  Black slacks and a couple of warm tops probably NO jewelry, one pair of ballet flats.  I imagine my husband will take one pair of slacks and long sleeved polos, perhaps a button down shirt and he will NOT be wearing a ball cap ( one of biggest peeves in any of eating venues.)   But I am not sure why jeans are easier than a pair of slacks to wear in the dining room. Plus jeans take so long to dry!

Perhaps not with your drying closet?😂

[Ktwofish]

I agree, @Sunflower & The Scientist I’ve never understood why the topic of dress code and attire can be so divisive.  Simple question, simple answer.  No need to be unkind, snarky, etc.

[sippican]

On 6/29/2022 at 11:19 AM, deec said:

We are doing an Antarctic Expedition this winter.  I will not be dressing for dinner like I usually do on Ocean Cruises.  There just will NOT be room in the luggage!  Black slacks and a couple of warm tops probably NO jewelry, one pair of ballet flats.  I imagine my husband will take one pair of slacks and long sleeved polos, perhaps a button down shirt and he will NOT be wearing a ball cap ( one of biggest peeves in any of eating venues.)   But I am not sure why jeans are easier than a pair of slacks to wear in the dining room. Plus jeans take so long to dry!

 

 Agree completely!

I understand completely why this question came up. Celebrity Cruiseline has a dress code for dinner. That being said, their expedition ships in the Galapagos take a much more relaxed view of the published standards. Luggage restrictions play a huge part in many regions of the world!

Durning Galapagos expeditions, many go to dinner in slacks and a clean top (sometimes, even the clothing they intend to wear the next day - Gasp!). Dresses and skirts appear very rarely. 

 

Heidi 13 - no need for your snarky comment regarding Carnival and NCL! If you can't be helpful ......

[May B]

5 hours ago, sippican said:

 

 Agree completely!

I understand completely why this question came up. Celebrity Cruiseline has a dress code for dinner. That being said, their expedition ships in the Galapagos take a much more relaxed view of the published standards. Luggage restrictions play a huge part in many regions of the world!

Durning Galapagos expeditions, many go to dinner in slacks and a clean top (sometimes, even the clothing they intend to wear the next day - Gasp!). Dresses and skirts appear very rarely. 

 

Heidi 13 - no need for your snarky comment regarding Carnival and NCL! If you can't be helpful ......

I would often wear the shell to dinner that I planned to wear under my expedition shirt the next day, in the Galapagos. Not sure what the gasp was all about. Not the same lightweight pants. I had two pairs of expedition pants for days, and two pairs of casual slacks for evening. Same plan for Octantis, pretty much.

 

What made ME gasp was when some guests came to dinner in the clothes they’d worn THAT DAY when going by zodiac to the various uninhabited (by humans) islands. I could never do all that hiking around and then go to dinner without showering!

Edited July 6, 2022 by May B

[sippican]

10 hours ago, May B said:

I would often wear the shell to dinner that I planned to wear under my expedition shirt the next day, in the Galapagos. Not sure what the gasp was all about. Not the same lightweight pants. I had two pairs of expedition pants for days, and two pairs of casual slacks for evening. Same plan for Octantis, pretty much.

 

What made ME gasp was when some guests came to dinner in the clothes they’d worn THAT DAY when going by zodiac to the various uninhabited (by humans) islands. I could never do all that hiking around and then go to dinner without showering!

 The gasp was intended to be sarcasm. My lightweight expedition/ hiking pants are very plain, solid colors, no way to differentiate if they are just slacks or outdoor friendly material.  They easily serve double-duty. 

 

Edited July 6, 2022 by sippican

[Fropa]

I'm looking at possibly booking with Viking for Antarctica in January 2023. A polar plunge in the itinerary is important to me, but I can't find anything that says if they try to include one. Anyone travel with them this last season that knows for sure? Thanks.

[amyr]

5 minutes ago, Fropa said:

I'm looking at possibly booking with Viking for Antarctica in January 2023. A polar plunge in the itinerary is important to me, but I can't find anything that says if they try to include one. Anyone travel with them this last season that knows for sure? Thanks.

Not firsthand experience since we're not going until December, but somewhere (here most likely) I was looking at pictures from one of last season's Octantis cruises and they were doing a polar plunge.  Obviously it's weather and conditions permitting, but that would indicate that if they have people interested they will make an effort to get it done.  

[May B]

4 hours ago, sippican said:

 The gasp was intended to be sarcasm. My lightweight expedition/ hiking pants are very plain, solid colors, no way to differentiate if they are just slacks or outdoor friendly material.  They easily serve double-duty. 

 

The style and material of my expedition pants rules them out as being considered anywhere near nice enough for The Restaurant or Manfredi’s, in MY mind, anyway!

[LadyVol1]

6 hours ago, Fropa said:

I'm looking at possibly booking with Viking for Antarctica in January 2023. A polar plunge in the itinerary is important to me, but I can't find anything that says if they try to include one. Anyone travel with them this last season that knows for sure? Thanks.

I know you’re asking about Viking but when we did Antarctica with Seabourn the polar plunge was in the swimming pool with ice added. They said “liability” when asked if we could do it for real. Just another data point for you. 

[Fropa]

5 hours ago, LadyVol1 said:

I know you’re asking about Viking but when we did Antarctica with Seabourn the polar plunge was in the swimming pool with ice added. They said “liability” when asked if we could do it for real. Just another data point for you. 

 

11 hours ago, amyr said:

Not firsthand experience since we're not going until December, but somewhere (here most likely) I was looking at pictures from one of last season's Octantis cruises and they were doing a polar plunge.  Obviously it's weather and conditions permitting, but that would indicate that if they have people interested they will make an effort to get it done.  

Thanks for the responses. LadyVol1 that would be heartbreaking to think you going to do a jump into the Southern Ocean and then be told you were just jumping into the pool.

[LadyVol1]

20 minutes ago, Fropa said:

 

Thanks for the responses. LadyVol1 that would be heartbreaking to think you going to do a jump into the Southern Ocean and then be told you were just jumping into the pool.

Since I get hives when I get cold I wasn't going to do it but I guess some people were miffed.  However, I don't ever recall seeing it stated in any of the Seabourn literature that passengers could jump in the water.  Had I seen that, I probably would have told my husband he needed to do it!

[Fropa]

On 7/6/2022 at 9:38 PM, LadyVol1 said:

Since I get hives when I get cold I wasn't going to do it but I guess some people were miffed.  However, I don't ever recall seeing it stated in any of the Seabourn literature that passengers could jump in the water.  Had I seen that, I probably would have told my husband he needed to do it!

If it wasn't something that was expected in advance that wouldn't be as bad as I first pictured. I think miffed is a perfect word to describe how people would have felt in that situation.

[Frenchberet]

Hi, I read several months ago that the submersibles were not operational on Octantis.  Any updates?  Are they being used on the Great Lakes cruises?  Appreciate any info.

[bkh62]

2 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

Hi, I read several months ago that the submersibles were not operational on Octantis.  Any updates?  Are they being used on the Great Lakes cruises?  Appreciate any info.

They are being used on Octantis this week on the Great Lakes.

[LadyVol1]

1 hour ago, bkh62 said:

They are being used on Octantis this week on the Great Lakes.

bkh62 - If you’re on Octantis right now, could you please post a full copy of the daily program? If possible, a sea day version and a port day version would be appreciated but anything is better than what I have (nothing 😉). Thanks. 

[Frenchberet]

1 hour ago, bkh62 said:

They are being used on Octantis this week on the Great Lakes.

Thank you for the update!

[PeabodyMa]

Great Lakes: Submersibles, zodiacs, Special Ops boats & kayaks operate in Canadian waters…not in US waters.

Edited July 20, 2022 by PeabodyMa

[duquephart]

On 6/29/2022 at 3:06 AM, janetcbl said:

Last night at the Restaurant on Mars,  a young female passenger in front of us was asked to go back to her cabin and change from the jeans she was wearing. 

On recent Homelands saw jeans in restaurant several times and short shorts twice.

[disudds]

I was excited to find this thread today as we just booked an Antarctic cruise for 2024. I'm wondering about the air that is provided by Viking. We booked for Premium Economy and noted that the website says this might only be on international portions of the trip. That made us think we might want to book our own air to ensure we have the cabin class and seats we want, and then I wondered about the flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, and whether that would be included as part of the cruise or if we'd be on our own for that too. The reply from our TA was that "transfers are not included" but this seems more like part of the cruise than a transfer. If we can book our own air, we might want to spend more time in Buenos Aires before the cruise at a cost less than an extension. Does anyone have experience with or knowledge of this?

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, disudds said:

We booked for Premium Economy and noted that the website says this might only be on international portions of the trip. That made us think we might want to book our own air to ensure we have the cabin class and seats we want, and then I wondered about the flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, and whether that would be included as part of the cruise or if we'd be on our own for that too.

in answer to your first concern -- Yes -- Premium Economy is a class that is ONLY offered on international legs of your flight.  IMHO -- flying in economy on the domestic leg is not that bad (I see you're in Salt Lake City).  You're still free to upgrade yourself to Economy Plus (or whatever is the analog to this United class if your flight is not on United) after Viking Air books your flight.  So I see that as a non-issue.

 

In answer to your second concern.. others who have been done Antarctica with Viking may correct me .. please do .. but my interpretation of what I read on the Viking site is that the flight from BA to Ushuaia is included.  If it were otherwise I'm quite sure it would say so.

[amyr]

Yes, the flight to/from Ushuaia is included as well as one night at the Hilton in Buenos Aires. Not sure if all the cruises use the Hilton, but ours does.  If you come in the day before using Viking Air, they also include transfers to the Hilton, but we are coming in a couple of days early so no transfers for us.  We had to come in early because there was no business class Viking Air available on the day before our cruise.  We've been to BA before, so didn't really need the extra days, but it's a beautiful city, so we'll enjoy it.  

 

There's not a lot of info about that flight to/from Ushuaia because last year Argentina got pretty fussy about the ship and Covid so Viking chartered airplanes straight from Miami to Ushuaia and kept everything in a bubble.  There will hopefully be a lot more information with the next season.

[emileg]

Hi, long time, no see. We were one of two couples who tested asymptomatic positive for an Octantis expedition in February and were unable to take the cruise. We are still fighting with TripMate for full reimbursement. This insurance deducted $6000 for the one night at the Sheraton. I highly recommend alternate insurance.

 

Nevertheless, we decide to book the January 31, 2024 sailing on the Octantis that includes the South Georgia Island and Falkland Islands in addition to Antarctica. This 18-night itinerary seems awesome.

[deec]

Agree...we were so disappointed last winter when Falkland Island were not on the South America Cruise!

 

[Azulann]

Big article with stunning pictures of Octantis entering Duluth harbor on Lake Superior In the Mpls Star Tribune Sunday paper. Peter Groebner was on board and wrote detail story about his cruise from Milwaukee to Thunder Bay this summer. If I was younger I would definitely do a Great Lake  cruise. I no longer kayak etc.