Do WC itineraries change much?

[Diveloonie]

Just a couple more years and we will be joining a Viking WC.  I'm wondering has anyone got an idea how much if any the itineraries for the WC change from year to year?  I have looked closely at the last two itineraries and not much changes.  Anyone?

[Heidi13]

1 minute ago, Diveloonie said:

Just a couple more years and we will be joining a Viking WC.  I'm wondering has anyone got an idea how much if any the itineraries for the WC change from year to year?  I have looked closely at the last two itineraries and not much changes.  Anyone?

 

I'll suggest the last 3 WC's are a COVID anomaly.

 

Viking started World Cruising in 2017/18, with an itinerary that followed the same general path as the current WC, but with a number of different ports, especially in the Pacific. It had more SE Asia ports and less in the Meddy.

 

The 2018/19 WC was completely different, crossing the Indian Ocean, round Cape of Good Hope and up the coast of Africa

 

Ultimate 245-day WC was 2019/20, consisting of the "Ultimate" and 2 shorter World Cruises.

 

2020/21 - Was similar to the 2nd half of the Ultimate, but had more Meddy ports. This cruise was cancelled

 

2021/22 - Similar to the 20/21 which was fully booked, but was cancelled. This cruise did sail, but had a severely modified itinerary

 

2022/23 - Similar to 22/23, but with a few new ports

 

2023/24 - An exact copy of 22/23, which I'll suggest permitted Viking to get it published quickly, since their resources were used in reworking itineraries for other cruises. They have 2 ships on the same itinerary, which are well sold.

 

Once 2025 is published, I expect to see more changes from the previous 3 years. 

[Diveloonie]

Thank you Andy.  I figured Covid had something to do with it.  I don't understand how Myanmar has several overnights in port, while Singapore has one.  I do like the current itinerary, but hoping for more Asian ports when we go.  Not at all interested in western Africa or many of the South America ports.
Maybe I will see you on our future WC!

[Heidi13]

11 minutes ago, Diveloonie said:

Thank you Andy.  I figured Covid had something to do with it.  I don't understand how Myanmar has several overnights in port, while Singapore has one.  I do like the current itinerary, but hoping for more Asian ports when we go.  Not at all interested in western Africa or many of the South America ports.
Maybe I will see you on our future WC!

 

Anything is possible. We had to cancel # 3, so maybe in a couple of years.

 

You may want to search for World Cruise itineraries. I recall a number of months ago we discussed itineraries, with a list of ports of interest. I even threw together a quick itinerary. Unfortunately, I can't recall the name of the thread.

[UWDawg]

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Anything is possible. We had to cancel # 3, so maybe in a couple of years.

 

You may want to search for World Cruise itineraries. I recall a number of months ago we discussed itineraries, with a list of ports of interest. I even threw together a quick itinerary. Unfortunately, I can't recall the name of the thread.

I believe this may be the start of the thread to which @Heidi13 refers in which a wish list of desired ports for a World Cruise was discussed:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2767734-december-22-2022-world-cruise-ft-lauderdale-to-london-incudes-la-dep-jan-8th/?do=findComment&comment=61127696

 

[Piaa]

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Once 2025 is published, I expect to see more changes from the previous 3 years. 

 

Thank you - when do you think that might be announced?

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, Piaa said:

 

Thank you - when do you think that might be announced?

 

Sorry, don't have any info on when the next WC will be released.

[Piaa]

13 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Sorry, don't have any info on when the next WC will be released.

 

 

Thank you 

[Mich3554]

16 hours ago, Piaa said:

 

Thank you - when do you think that might be announced?

Last year, it was released around Dec some time.  I had a WC for 2024 on my radar and asked my Viking agent to let me know when he gets something.  I got an email while I was on the Jupiter, and a call from my agent after I got home asking me if I was still interested.  
 

[Piaa]

On 10/12/2022 at 12:01 PM, Mich3554 said:

Last year, it was released around Dec some time.  I had a WC for 2024 on my radar and asked my Viking agent to let me know when he gets something.  I got an email while I was on the Jupiter, and a call from my agent after I got home asking me if I was still interested.  
 

Thank you so much 

[Atwell]

I don't know exactly when the info on the 2023/2024 World Cruise was released but our booking was made on Sept 25, 2021.  Based on that, I thought the 2024/2025 World Cruise might be released by now, but nothing so far.

 

 

[UWDawg]

The 2022/23 WC on the Neptune was announced/posted on 9 Dec 2020.  #1
The 2023/24 WC on the Neptune was announced/posted on 19 July 2021.  #2111
The 2023/24 WC on the Sky was announced/posted on 21 Aug 2021.  #2384

So here we are more than a year later… the 2024/25 WC could be announced at anytime.  

 

As @Heidi13 mentioned, since the 2022/23 and 2023/24 WC's closely followed the original 2021/22 WC itinerary, and since the ports included in these WC's are largely a collection of the ports included in Viking's Asia & Australia and Mediterranean voyages, pulling together the Viking WCs for the past couple of years was probably straight forward.  I'm thinking the next Viking WC will likely be a complete overhaul and require more planning and coordination.  Plus I'd guess that they are looking for the geo-political situation to settle a bit.

[OneSixtyToOne]

19 hours ago, UWDawg said:

So here we are more than a year later… the 2024/25 WC could be announced at anytime.  

Received this in today’s mail, but it’s still 2023 & 2024

[UWDawg]

2024/25 Viking World Cruise posted. 
Viking often makes pricing changes as of the first of the month so I wanted to check the prices for the upcoming 2023/24 World Cruise before the end of the month and as of the first of the month/year.  When I checked I noticed that Viking has posted the 2024/25 World Cruise.  Unfortunately, it appears that the 2024/25 WC will have the same itinerary as the 2022/23 and 2023/24 Viking World Cruises.

 

• https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/world-grand/viking-world-cruise/index.html
• https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/world-grand/viking-world-journeys/index.html

[CurlerRob]

7 hours ago, UWDawg said:

2024/25 Viking World Cruise posted. 
Unfortunately, it appears that the 2024/25 WC will have the same itinerary as the 2022/23 and 2023/24 Viking World Cruises.

 

This is disappointing, as we have sailed that track and are not overly interested in a repeat. We had been hoping for a "dual cape" voyage.

 

As you did earlier, I speculate that, as with the 2023/24 decision, this is the path of least resistance and lowest cost risk for Viking. Unfortunate indeed. 🍺🥌

[Heidi13]

On 1/1/2023 at 8:31 AM, CurlerRob said:

 

This is disappointing, as we have sailed that track and are not overly interested in a repeat. We had been hoping for a "dual cape" voyage.

 

As you did earlier, I speculate that, as with the 2023/24 decision, this is the path of least resistance and lowest cost risk for Viking. Unfortunate indeed. 🍺🥌

 

Totally agree with you Rob, I fully expected a totally fresh itinerary for 24/25.

[Jim Avery]

29 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Totally agree with you Rob, I fully expected a totally fresh itinerary for 24/25.

Hi Andy, 

As we know the posted itineraries are a suggestion.  Actually there are a limited number of suitable ports in the visitable world unless you get off the beaten track.  That would require Viking to use more speed than 10-12 knots.  We know how they hate to go fast.....😳🍺