Repositioning Expedition ships Santiago to Ft. Lauderdale

[minka34]

Hi CC friends - trying to decide on this TODAY.  There are no zodiac adventures or kayaking listed as activities.  Wondering if anyone can report first hand experience from last year spring on Polaris or Octantis and is it a good itinerary?  Is the ship lacking anything (besides the CHEF TABLE! 😞 ) for doing a non-polar type trip?  We need to pay in full today so any experiences or thoughts to help us would be appreciated!  We've been on 6 VO and 3 VRs so we are familiar with Viking - just not the VE ships. Thanks in advance!

[ewenwash]

Look for OneSixtytoOne's live report on the Octantis coming down to Santiago in October.  He likely covered the opportunities prior to Santiago.  We were on Polaris from Santiago to Ushuaia a few days after Octantis.  We used the Zodiacs, submarines and the SOB extensively in the Chilean fjords.  I'm not sure how they would be used from Santiago north.  

[OneSixtyToOne]

35 minutes ago, ewenwash said:

Look for OneSixtytoOne's live report on the Octantis coming down to Santiago in October.  He likely covered the opportunities prior to Santiago.  We were on Polaris from Santiago to Ushuaia a few days after Octantis.  We used the Zodiacs, submarines and the SOB extensively in the Chilean fjords.  I'm not sure how they would be used from Santiago north.  

 

We were only on the Santiago to Ushuaia leg, which we highly recommend.

Here is my writeup

 

Not sure if the "toys" are deployed north of Santiago.

 

That being said I found the Expedition ship the best experience of any of the Viking products.

The entertainment is limited but I enjoyed that. (I find cruise ship entertainment to be typically awful and something to be avoided.)

 

The main focus is lectures on science, nature, and history; all of which I found fascinating, enjoyable, and first rate.

 

As for as food, it's superior to both Viking Ocean and River. You can dine on steak and lobster every night if you so wish. They also have an extensive sushi bar and seafood buffet. We never had a reason to eat in the restaurant and cancelled both of our reservations.

 

If you are expecting a typically cruise ship experience, you need to adjust your expectations. It is not that. We had 320 passengers and 250 crew. The service was incredible.

Edited December 7, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[TayanaLorna]

I vaguely recall reading that folks on the first Expedition repositioning cruises were disappointed in lack of usage of the "toys".  It's a great and more economical way to enjoy the new ships but I don't think there is much in the way of research and such.  On the Santiago to Ushuaia cruises the ship spends several "sea" days in quiet bays and backwaters where they can deploy the kayaks, RIB's etc.

[minka34]

thanks for all the quick replies!  I think we're going to book it.

[minka34]

Update - We had been wondering about whether or not any of the exploration toys would be deployed on our itinerary. From our booking documents it sounds like there is that possibility. Here is the statement from our docs:
"Itinerary Information Submarine Dive: Please note, the destinations you will be visiting on your itinerary will not allow us to deploy our submarines. However, we will still be able to offer our extensive shore excursion program and other expedition activities-including the special operations boats, zodiacs and kayaks in select ports along your voyage."