Viking Expeditions Thread

[kchand]

I notice a lot of the pictures posted on Facebook holding an Antarctic Flag.

Where do you get them.

[Mike07]

20 minutes ago, kchand said:

I notice a lot of the pictures posted on Facebook holding an Antarctic Flag.

Where do you get them.

 

Probably Amazon or eBay. The ship, at least with Viking, doesn't provide them.

[kchand]

Viking usually  takes care of lots of things, but I guess not this one.

Thanks

[deec]

When we went to Antarctica someone had left a 2024 flag onboard and the team brought it to landings!

[Clay Clayton]

We have friends who we are trying to convince to take Viking to Antartica with us but they are worried about not actually landing.  They are looking at the NatGeo cruises that start with an expensive flight to Antartica which is beyond our budget.  
 

Other than diversions due to medical evacuations, I don’t recall any cruises that didn’t make a landing on Antartica-can others confirm? 
 

TIA!

[Ktwofish]

49 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

We have friends who we are trying to convince to take Viking to Antartica with us but they are worried about not actually landing.  They are looking at the NatGeo cruises that start with an expensive flight to Antartica which is beyond our budget.  
 

Other than diversions due to medical evacuations, I don’t recall any cruises that didn’t make a landing on Antartica-can others confirm? 
 

TIA!

The FB group has posts about these concerns. Weather can affect landings but we did not have an issue with weather. (We had the medical evacuation and lost 3 full days in Antarctica.) Also at one location, we just did zodiacs and/or special op boats because researchers were on location. If researchers are not in residence, then you can land. 

[Kountess]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

We have friends who we are trying to convince to take Viking to Antartica with us but they are worried about not actually landing.  They are looking at the NatGeo cruises that start with an expensive flight to Antartica which is beyond our budget.  

Clay, When are you planning to go?

[deec]

Perhaps a cruise may not land "on the continent" but not sure how you could really tell other than someone telling you that you were on an island.  We did not get to cross the Antarctic Circle...did not matter.  It was an incredible trip and the expedition's team made every landing or cruise wonderful.  We had our itinerary altered because of a medical emergency but still enjoyed plan B!!!  would go again in a heartbeat....Clay our world cruise was such an incredible fascinating 4 months of a journey we never dreamed of having....BUT Antarctica and the Expedition ships are another level of exploration! Most amazing trip remains an African Safari...I wonder if Viking has a plan to start a River safari

[Frenchberet]

We did the Viking Antarctic Explorer cruise in Feb 2023.  I guess we were lucky as we had a decent Drake crossing and landed 4 times in Antarctica.  Another day the seas were too choppy to land but we were able to take the zodiacs out to get up close and personal with a pod of whales.  It was a wonderful, transformational trip.  Do it.

[CurlerRob]

3 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

We have friends who we are trying to convince to take Viking to Antartica with us but they are worried about not actually landing.  They are looking at the NatGeo cruises that start with an expensive flight to Antartica which is beyond our budget.  
 

Other than diversions due to medical evacuations, I don’t recall any cruises that didn’t make a landing on Antartica-can others confirm? 
 

TIA!

 

Clay, we are booked for Jan 25 - maybe we'll meet!

 

In my research, you would have to be extremely unlucky not to land at all and I have not found a single cruise that has missed entirely thus far. You'd need a terrible combination of poor weather and likely a mechanical or medical emergency to lose the whole thing. That said, "00" in on the roulette wheel for a reason 👿

 

My larger concern with our timing is actually Avian flu. There are areas of South Georgia that are currently off limits to all expedition landings, and no-one knows for sure how the disease will progress in the far south. It has been detected in wildlife on the Peninsula, but no restrictions thus far. We've decided to roll the dice - not getting any younger, but you may want to monitor the expedition threads for Silversea and Seabourn.

 

Here's one I found, it's over now, so not completely current. I think it was post #212. Best of luck! 🍺🥌

 

 

 

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, Kountess said:

Clay, When are you planning to go?

 

9 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Clay, we are booked for Jan 25 - maybe we'll meet!

 

In my research, you would have to be extremely unlucky not to land at all and I have not found a single cruise that has missed entirely thus far. You'd need a terrible combination of poor weather and likely a mechanical or medical emergency to lose the whole thing. That said, "00" in on the roulette wheel for a reason 👿

 

My larger concern with our timing is actually Avian flu. There are areas of South Georgia that are currently off limits to all expedition landings, and no-one knows for sure how the disease will progress in the far south. It has been detected in wildlife on the Peninsula, but no restrictions thus far. We've decided to roll the dice - not getting any younger, but you may want to monitor the expedition threads for Silversea and Seabourn.

 

Here's one I found, it's over now, so not completely current. I think it was post #212. Best of luck! 🍺🥌

 

 

 

We have some friends from the World Cruise who are going on Octantis on Jan 12 and we are considering changing our currently booked March Buenos Aires to Barcelona to join them. But had hoped to get our other friends to come along but at least one of them is pretty set on flying to Antarctica.  

[Kountess]

2 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

We have some friends from the World Cruise who are going on Octantis on Jan 12 and we are considering changing our currently booked March Buenos Aires to Barcelona to join them. But had hoped to get our other friends to come along but at least one of them is pretty set on flying to Antarctica.  

Darn!  We'll miss you again.  We are booked on The Americas, Chile and Antarctica cruise from Ft. Lauderdale on October 13.

[Clay Clayton]

2 minutes ago, Kountess said:

Darn!  We'll miss you again.  We are booked on The Americas, Chile and Antarctica cruise from Ft. Lauderdale on October 13.

Never say never.  We have decided we will wait and see if there are any promos later this fall.  If we went one cruise earlier the cost is $1000pp less and while it has a great deal more staterooms available, there are still a lot empty on the 12th so 🤞

[OnTheJourney]

On 3/2/2024 at 11:17 AM, Ktwofish said:

The trip across the Drake was smooth (so they say, but the ship still rolls and you will hold onto walls and rails.)

Not necessarily. Our sailing (both ways) was quite smooth. No rocking and rolling whatsoever, although that was on a much bigger ship than Viking expedition. I was so thankful cause I'd been wanting to go down there for literally decades but always pushed it off for fear of the possibility (or even likelihood) of encountering really bad conditions. Another thing that was amazing was that our weather was much warmer at times than anticipated. In Port Stanley I only had on a sweatshirt. Weather is so unpredictable down there though. We were told that had we tried to call at Port Stanley the day before, we wouldn't have been able to do it.

 

That was all back in '17, so then breathing a sigh of relief from having had that unexpectedly calm - but most welcomed - experience, the Viking Sky episode of '19 came along!!!! More than made up for it I suppose.

Edited June 5 by OnTheJourney

[Ktwofish]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

Not necessarily. Our sailing (both ways) was quite smooth. No rocking and rolling whatsoever, although that was on a much bigger ship than Viking expedition. I was so thankful cause I'd been wanting to go down there for literally decades but always pushed it off for fear of the possibility (or even likelihood) of encountering really bad conditions. Another thing that was amazing was that our weather was much warmer at times than anticipated. In Port Stanley I only had on a sweatshirt. Weather is so unpredictable down there though. We were told that had we tried to call at Port Stanley the day before, we wouldn't have been able to do it.

 

That was all back in '17, so then breathing a sigh of relief from having had that unexpectedly calm - but most welcomed - experience, the Viking Sky episode of '19 came along!!!! More than made up for it I suppose.

You were very lucky!  I guess we were lucky as well.  We just proceeded around the ship with care.  We also ordered room service one night.  So glad Viking will provide room service for no extra charge.

[YPT]

On 6/2/2024 at 4:52 PM, kchand said:

I notice a lot of the pictures posted on Facebook holding an Antarctic Flag.

Where do you get them.

Something like this?  

https://printerval.com/i-ve-been-there-flag-of-antarctica-house-flags-p158858549?spid=141002431

[YPT]

On 6/2/2024 at 4:52 PM, kchand said:

I notice a lot of the pictures posted on Facebook holding an Antarctic Flag.

Where do you get them.

 

here is another https://flagsforantarctica.com/products/antarctica-7th-continent-flag-2024?variant=44036623630619

[cmason]

We are joining Polaris on the Argentina & the Chilean Fjords in Feb 2025. Looking at the itinerary, there are some days listed as "Scenic Sailing" and others as "Explore". I am assuming that Scenic Sailing is essentially equivalent to a sea day, whereas an "Explore" is a day where the ship stops and you can kayak, or ride on the boats? 

 

Any experience on the difference in these?

 

Day 7 — Scenic Sailing: Chilean Fjords 

Day 8 — Explore Chilean Glaciers 

Day 9 — Explore Chilean Glaciers 

Day 10 — Scenic Sailing: Chilean Fjords

[OneSixtyToOne]

26 minutes ago, cmason said:

We are joining Polaris on the Argentina & the Chilean Fjords in Feb 2025. Looking at the itinerary, there are some days listed as "Scenic Sailing" and others as "Explore". I am assuming that Scenic Sailing is essentially equivalent to a sea day, whereas an "Explore" is a day where the ship stops and you can kayak, or ride on the boats? 

 

Any experience on the difference in these?

 

Day 7 — Scenic Sailing: Chilean Fjords 

Day 8 — Explore Chilean Glaciers 

Day 9 — Explore Chilean Glaciers 

Day 10 — Scenic Sailing: Chilean Fjords

You are correct. They also may deploy the “toys” on other days if conditions warrant. We had a SOB ride during a port stop. Also, one of glaciers (Agostini?) allows for a zodiac landing near it. That is the best one to sign up for the zodiac excursion. 

The Scenic Sailing is unlike ocean in that you are in the fjords close to land and there will be people on deck looking for wildlife. If there is a sighing, they may maneuver the ship to get a better view. We saw whales, dolphins, and penguins in the water. 

 

Here is my review of the trip (opposite direction of yours)

 

Edited July 30 by OneSixtyToOne

[Clay Clayton]

We are thinking about booking Polaris for either Toronto to Fort Lauderdale or Lauderdale to Santiago. If anyone has any been on either of these itineraries, I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.  We think it would be a great way to try out the expedition ships at a great price. But after reading the few reviews of these, it seems that is the only real pro for doing so, most reviewers say there isn’t much use of the special equipment nor many interesting ports. 
 

 

Lastly, if anyone has done Viking’s overland excursion to Monte Pichu, would love to know its cost and whether you found it a good value. 
 

TIA!

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

We are thinking about booking Polaris for either Toronto to Fort Lauderdale or Lauderdale to Santiago. If anyone has any been on either of these itineraries, I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.  We think it would be a great way to try out the expedition ships at a great price. But after reading the few reviews of these, it seems that is the only real pro for doing so, most reviewers say there isn’t much use of the special equipment nor many interesting ports. 
 

 

Lastly, if anyone has done Viking’s overland excursion to Monte Pichu, would love to know its cost and whether you found it a good value. 
 

TIA!

Do the Chilean fjords instead, especially if you think Antarctica might be a bit too extreme, it’s the closest you’ll get to experience a true expedition experience.

[Kountess]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

We are thinking about booking Polaris for either Toronto to Fort Lauderdale or Lauderdale to Santiago. If anyone has any been on either of these itineraries, I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.  We think it would be a great way to try out the expedition ships at a great price. But after reading the few reviews of these, it seems that is the only real pro for doing so, most reviewers say there isn’t much use of the special equipment nor many interesting ports. 

We are booked on the Canada & East Coast Explorer leaving Toronto on October 8, 2024.  Prior to that, we are traveling across Canada by train and had planned to fly home from Toronto.  When I happened to see this cruise and its great price, I thought it would be perfect since I have friends in Miami that I'd like to visit.

 

According to the list of excursions we received, the "toys" are only employed in Trois-Rivières.  However, that's not my priority on this cruise, and I think the ports in Canada look really interesting. 

 

I did want to try out the expedition ships, however, since we are booked on The Americas, Chile & Antarctica for October 13, 2025.  I love repositioning cruises, but agree with @OneSixtyToOne that the Chilean fjords and Antarctica were the main reasons we booked this cruise.

 

Come join us!

[1985rz1]

2 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

We are thinking about booking Polaris for either Toronto to Fort Lauderdale or Lauderdale to Santiago. If anyone has any been on either of these itineraries, I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.  We think it would be a great way to try out the expedition ships at a great price. But after reading the few reviews of these, it seems that is the only real pro for doing so, most reviewers say there isn’t much use of the special equipment nor many interesting ports. 
 

 

Lastly, if anyone has done Viking’s overland excursion to Monte Pichu, would love to know its cost and whether you found it a good value. 
 

TIA!

I join in with @OneSixtyToOne and @Kountess that the stretch between Santiago and Ushuaia  through the Chilean Fjords is a spectacular segment.  Haven't done Antarctica but that seems to get great reviews, so I would lean towards the Ft Lauderdale to Santiago cruise.

[OnTheJourney]

31 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Haven't done Antarctica

Go. One of the most amazing places I've ever been. Ushuaia also. Would have loved to have had a bit more time there.

Edited July 31 by OnTheJourney

[Insanityx4]

3 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

We are thinking about booking Polaris for either Toronto to Fort Lauderdale or Lauderdale to Santiago. If anyone has any been on either of these itineraries, I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.  We think it would be a great way to try out the expedition ships at a great price. But after reading the few reviews of these, it seems that is the only real pro for doing so, most reviewers say there isn’t much use of the special equipment nor many interesting ports. 
 

 

Lastly, if anyone has done Viking’s overland excursion to Monte Pichu, would love to know its cost and whether you found it a good value. 
 

TIA!

We did the Santiago to Ft. Lauderdale cruise last year on the Octantis. We were originally scheduled on the Polaris but it went into drydock for repairs from the rogue wave so we were put on the Octantis. It was a full ship since they combined both cruises. The ship leaves from Valparaiso which is about 1 1/2 hours from Santiago, so be prepared for that it if you plan to go in early. We spent 3 days in Santiago before the cruise (loved Santiago and wish we had more time there). We did a day trip through Viator to Valparaiso which dropped us off at our hotel the afternoon before the ship left. 

The cruise itself was not great in some ports and very good in others. The highlight of the cruise was a paid for (but now included) trip the San Lorenzo and the new canal. There was a huge container ship in the new canal and it was fascinating to watch. You could see the smaller ships going through the original canal in the background. Out tour was small, about 18 people in a mini van.. I'm sure the included trip will be quite different. It was our third time going through the canal and it was a different experience since the ship is smaller and we had three yachts going through with us.

The only Expedition cruises that include the toys are Antarctica and the Canadian side of the great lakes. Viking has been trying to get licensing for South America and the US without success for several years.

When we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale there was a huge flood that closed the airport for two days so we had to fly out of Miami. Viking did provide transportation to the Sheraton in Miami and paid for one night, no food included which they weren't obligated to do since the rainstorm wasn't something they could control. It was a interesting trip and we enjoyed it. The food on the ship was very  good. We never ate in the restaurant which is only open for dinner because the choice of entrees (only 3) were also available in the world cafe along with the grill which offered steak and lobster nightly and the expanded sushi bar. In our opinion the food and service at Manfredi's was not comparable to the ocean ships. Also no chef's table or afternoon tea.

One of the excursions in Cozumel was a taco and tequila tour which was more of a sales pitch for purchasing tequila and other local items and ran over by two hours so we missed the submarine trip which was disappointing until we talked to some others who went and said they packed about 40 people into the submarine with seats for about 25 so you really couldn't see much.

We really liked the enclosed balcony. You can keep the window open or closed depending on the weather and still feel like you were on a balcony.

Good luck Clay on deciding what to do! I hope this helps.

Edited July 31 by Insanityx4