LIVE from the Viking Neptune World Cruise includes FTL and LA

[Jim Avery]

Not you, it’s my horse. Just asking your opinion. 
#skyalwaysgetstheopenroof.

🍺🥃🍸😎🚢

[Heidi13]

On 2/16/2024 at 12:22 PM, Jim Avery said:

Viking is the only one not helping their passengers make new plans.  I don't know why other than they don't want to face up to the passengers.  Maybe they are delusional about being the first cruise ship to run the gauntlet?  Everyone seems to be speculating.  More than a few onboard are getting very frustrated and mad with  'Viking as they have expensive, paid for private tours to cancel but have, so far, no reason to do so.  Step up Viking.  Past time to give us some information to work with.

 

Jim,

 

Perhaps the latest incident in the region will prompt Viking to finally act. A UK owned, Belize registered cargo ship was attacked by missiles last night, it is taking on water and has been abandoned by the crew.

 

The clowns in L/A do monitor CC, so hopefully they pass pax concerns to the head office.

 

Since Viking's main customer base is the USA, I suspect a ship full of Americans would also be a prime target. Long past time for Viking to make a decision and provide pax with options.

 

 

[Clay Clayton]

Heads up from Sky, our arrival and departure times from Ho Chi Minh City have changed-arriving on the 5th at 14:00 (rather than the 6th at 8:00), departing on the 8th at 13:00 (rather than at 18:00). It’s unclear why though some have speculated it could be tide related.  Playing havoc with some excursions on the 8th and with independent plans. #itsanadventure 

[Jim Avery]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Heads up from Sky, our arrival and departure times from Ho Chi Minh City have changed-arriving on the 5th at 14:00 (rather than the 6th at 8:00), departing on the 8th at 13:00 (rather than at 18:00). It’s unclear why though some have speculated it could be tide related.  Playing havoc with some excursions on the 8th and with independent plans. #itsanadventure 

viking are experimenting with you guys.  By the time we get there, they have worked out all the kinks.  And as to avoiding the Red Sea, we have no worries.  Yall and us are on the port side.  The starboard side will be facing any missiles.  😱🍸

[Clay Clayton]

35 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

viking are experimenting with you guys.  By the time we get there, they have worked out all the kinks.  And as to avoiding the Red Sea, we have no worries.  Yall and us are on the port side.  The starboard side will be facing any missiles.  😱🍸

I’m thinking maybe no one bothered to look at the tide tables before setting Sky’s itinerary (“make it the same as Neptune, but 3 days earlier and let them dock in Melbourne, Circular Quay, and Brisbane”) and only just discovered that three days earlier in HCM City is a low low tide so if we don’t go and come at the highest tide, we won’t be able to?  Calling @Heidi13 for his thoughts….

[BobCatter]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

viking are experimenting with you guys.  By the time we get there, they have worked out all the kinks.  And as to avoiding the Red Sea, we have no worries.  Yall and us are on the port side.  The starboard side will be facing any missiles.  😱🍸

Yeah but the pirates will be coming from the port side. 

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, BobCatter said:

Yeah but the pirates will be coming from the port side. 

After our pirate encounter and the utter failure to stave it off this morning, methinks I don’t trust whatever security measures are supposedly in place😂

[Heidi13]

8 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

I’m thinking maybe no one bothered to look at the tide tables before setting Sky’s itinerary (“make it the same as Neptune, but 3 days earlier and let them dock in Melbourne, Circular Quay, and Brisbane”) and only just discovered that three days earlier in HCM City is a low low tide so if we don’t go and come at the highest tide, we won’t be able to?  Calling @Heidi13 for his thoughts….

 

Clay,

 

It tough making an educated guess for Saigon, due to the number of variable. The actual berth availability is always an issue. If originally scheduled for one of the outer commercial berths, the tides shouldn't be an issue. However, if assigned a berth further up river, tides could be an issue.

 

Based on other ship movements, pilot availability, tug availability, etc could also be issues.

[BobCatter]

Neptune’s itinerary has changed for Ho Chi Minh as well. Arrive 3/9 at 2:00pm, Depart 3/12 at 2:00pm. 

[BobCatter]

Tender returning to the Neptune in front of the rain, Whitsunday Islands.

[Jim Avery]

An off and on rainy day in Cairns.  We didi not do the boat to the barrier reef as we did that last time here.  One time in the stinger suit is enough.  Went to the Aquarium and it was very nice. After went walkabout in the very convenient town center and did some shopping.  Ended at Dundee's Pub/Restaurant.  Excellent food, much supposedly local sourced.  Right on the water a short walk back to the ship.  And the ship is docked right at Hemingway's Brewery..  A real working brewery with attached pub.  Close enough to visit in your Viking robe and slippers......🍺🍺🍺

[Wavetripper]

In Cairns after enjoying an aquarium excursion we stopped at the Barrier Reef Hotel established in 1898,  the oldest waterfront hotel in Cairns there we enjoyed a few refreshments.

[SteelCity Cruiser]

10 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

An off and on rainy day in Cairns.  We didi not do the boat to the barrier reef as we did that last time here.  One time in the stinger suit is enough.  Went to the Aquarium and it was very nice. After went walkabout in the very convenient town center and did some shopping.  Ended at Dundee's Pub/Restaurant.  Excellent food, much supposedly local sourced.  Right on the water a short walk back to the ship.  And the ship is docked right at Hemingway's Brewery..  A real working brewery with attached pub.  Close enough to visit in your Viking robe and slippers......🍺🍺🍺

We had dinner at Dundees when we spent 3 days in Cairns last January.  Wonderful food, service and atmosphere.  Another fun place, best for lunch, is Prawn Stars which is IN the marina.  HUGE platters of fresh prawns served on fishing boats that have been converted to restaurant seating/

[Jim Avery]

A beautiful if hot sea day after a rainy off and on in Cairns.  Viking gave us a video presentation of upcoming changes and officially we have joined the rest of the cruise world in skipping the Red Sea in favor of around the Cape of Good Hope (not the Horn of Africa).  Waiting for written info to give our updates.  We are actually excited for the new to us ports coming up.  But then we have already seen all the missed ports except Israel.  If we hadn't had the opportunity already we would probably be pretty annoyed.  All in the mood seems to be upbeat and relieved here onboard.  We shall see how many leave.  More to come.

[cruising denise]

Hi Neptune friends, from the Sky,

 

I've already individually polled a number of my friends onboard the Sky.  So far, it is 100% staying the course.  Eddie and I are a bit mixed.  I'm leaning more to staying, though western Africa looks uncertain and a lot of sea days.  I calculated that it is 4 more sea days than our original itinerary from Singapore forward, so not that big a difference though they are pretty compacted to the 7 days straight in western Africa.

 

Very interested to hear from you passengers on the Neptune - what are you planning to do?

 

We are considering staying on until Capetown, assuming we don't stay till the end. We do have two more cruises yet to be paid for, to which we could apply any and all remaining refundable credits, so that, too, is a consideration for us.

[Jim Avery]

Nothing wrong with going home if this is not to your liking.

interestingly this is almost identical to the one Heidi13 posted weeks ago.

[Jim Avery]

Another nice sea day, good thing we like them.  Staying aboard in Komodo as we have plenty of dragon pix. Up to Wavetripper to avoid getting eaten and get some great shots. Maybe a selfie or two.😳

Haven’t heard too much talk about leaving early, seems most share our opinion that Viking has done a good job all things considered.🥃😎

[Wavetripper]

Well Jim, I am thinking by now we are requiring a few action photos, so Jim if you come with and you can get ahead of them dragons I will gladly snap a picture or two. I will hold the gate, let's test those running skills. 

Cheers 🍻😃

 

[Wavetripper]

Out of the group of pax we have met onboard, most are wanting to stay the journey. Aware of only two couples that are exploring leaving early. 

Edited February 26 by Wavetripper

[Clay Clayton]

I’ve heard many exploring the idea of leaving in Cochin or before and reboarding in Capetown after doing a real safari and other exploration in India and/or South Africa. I dont know anyone who has pulled the trigger yet, but that is at least partially due to the lack of answer from Viking to make sure they will be able to reembark in Capetown or Morocco. #needdetails

[dreamercruise]

On 2/24/2024 at 1:16 AM, cruising denise said:

 

We are considering staying on until Capetown, assuming we don't stay till the end.

If you stay until Capetown, will you be able to do a safari and possibly stay in Capetown vicinity for a few more days to see Victoria Falls?

[LunaSeaRetreat]

12 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

I’ve heard many exploring the idea of leaving in Cochin or before and reboarding in Capetown after doing a real safari and other exploration in India and/or South Africa. I dont know anyone who has pulled the trigger yet, but that is at least partially due to the lack of answer from Viking to make sure they will be able to reembark in Capetown or Morocco. #needdetails

Our letter from the hotel manager stated that they are working on uploading the new excursions but didn't say where.  Does anyone know where to look for them?  I stopped by guest services to see if we would need any vaccinations and they had no idea!  Maybe tomorrow...

Cynthia

 

[BobCatter]

18 minutes ago, LunaSeaRetreat said:

Our letter from the hotel manager stated that they are working on uploading the new excursions but didn't say where.  Does anyone know where to look for them?  I stopped by guest services to see if we would need any vaccinations and they had no idea!  Maybe tomorrow...

Cynthia

 

When I talked to guest services they said Monday or Tuesday. No idea where, other than maybe VIking Voyager, or perhaps a booking form delivered to the room. I'm still waiting to hear if they will use cabin categories for booking order like they do pre-cruise. It is going to be total scrum if they have everyone onboard try to book at the same time. 

[Clay Clayton]

Just now, BobCatter said:

When I talked to guest services they said Monday or Tuesday. No idea where, other than maybe VIking Voyager, or perhaps a booking form delivered to the room. I'm still waiting to hear if they will use cabin categories for booking order like they do pre-cruise. It is going to be total scrum if they have everyone onboard try to book at the same time. 

I’m planning on buying a sleeping bag in Bali so I can camp out in the Living Room😂

 

[Jim Avery]

3 hours ago, LunaSeaRetreat said:

Our letter from the hotel manager stated that they are working on uploading the new excursions but didn't say where.  Does anyone know where to look for them?  I stopped by guest services to see if we would need any vaccinations and they had no idea!  Maybe tomorrow...

Cynthia

 

We were in Africa last August and had no vaccinations. Still here.🍸