Last night we heard the dreaded”Bing Bong” through the cabins/lounges, shortly after the all aboard time in Brisbane. Expecting the usual pre-departure announcement from Hotel Services for missing pax, of will Mr/Mrs ………… please contact Guest Services immediately to confirm you are aboard,

But no, this was Bevan the Cruise Director, with an important message from the Captain, These are generally rarely good news, so read on to learn our new itinerary.

Viking Corporate HQ are closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation in SE Asia and with the safety of the passengers and crew their priority, they have decided to bypass Singapore, Thailand and Philippines.

This is a very bold move and necessitates significant changes to the World Cruise itinerary. For the current segment, the new itinerary is:

Date                Itinerary #2                         New Itinerary

14-Feb             Brisbane                                Brisbane

15-Feb             At Sea                                    At Sea

16-Feb             Airlie Beach                          At Sea

17-Feb             Cairns                                    Noumea, New Caledonia

18-Feb             At Sea                                    Noumea, New Caledonia

19-Feb             Thursday Island                   At Sea

20-Feb              At Sea                                  At Sea

21-Feb              At Sea                                  Cairns, Queensland

22-Feb              Darwin                                 Cairns, Queensland

23-Feb              At Sea                                  Airlie Beach – Whitsundays

24-Feb              Komodo Is                          Townsville, Queensland

25-Feb              Bali                                        At Sea

26-Feb              At Sea                                   Thursday Island, Queensland

27-Feb              Samarang                            At Sea

28-Feb              At Sea                                   Darwin, Northern Territory

29-Feb              At Sea                                   Darwin, Northern Territory

1-Mar                Kota Kinabalu                     At Sea

2-Mar                Kota Kinabalu                     Komodo Island

3-Mar                At Sea                                   At Sea

4-Mar                Manila                                   At Sea

5-Mar                Manila                                   Semarang, Java

6-Mar                At Sea                                   Surabaya, Java

7-Mar                At Sea                                   At Sea

8-Mar                At Sea                                   Bali, Indonesia

9-Mar               Singapore                             Bali, Indonesia

The next segment, which now departs from Bali will still end in Bombay, but will also require a revised itinerary, as the ship is sailing further South. They are still confirming the schedule for the next segment.

Viking Air is making all the required flight changes for those that booked flights through Viking and Guest Services will assist passengers that didn’t use Viking Air, as they must change their own flights.

This is a major administrative burden on Viking’s Fleet Ops, as making such significant changes at this late date is never easy, as many ports are already fully booked. My hat is off to Viking for making such bold changes, which will cost extra fuel as we have to criss-cross to a number of ports, based on availability. The additional overnights may off-set the fuel costs, but they incur additional port charges.

I will post the new itinerary for the next segment upon receipt.