Once we decided on a 2023 WC, rather than the previously booked 2022 B2B, we had another decision to make:

• 138 Days Ft Lauderdale to London, departing Dec 22nd 2022, or
• 121 Days Los Angeles to London, departing Jan 8th 2023

Judi really doesn’t like spending Christmas away from home and we have both been through Panama many times – Judi about 10 and me 25+. Only 2 of the ports were new ports for us – Cozumel, which we have no desire to visit and Leon in Nicaragua, a country we have visited a number of times.

Therefore, it was a quick and easy decision, our preference was the 2023 Viking World Journeys, departing L/A (San Pedro) on Jan 8th 2023. Read on for the detailed itinerary and some Viking links.

Check out Viking’s promotional film, which I believe is narrated by the Chairman’s daughter, who is a Senior Vice-President.

To view the cruise on Viking’s website, click here

2023 Viking World Journeys Itinerary

I include the detailed itinerary and since Viking don’t provide port arrival/departure times until you book, I will include those for anyone interested in this cruise.

• Day 1            San Pedro, USA                  ETA – 05:00     ETD – 23:59
• Day 2            Santa Barbara, USA           ETA – 08:00     ETD – 17:00 (Tender)
• Day 3-7         At Sea
• Day 8            Honolulu, Oahu, USA         ETA – 08:00     ETD – 23:00
• Day 9            Nawiliwili, Kauai, USA        ETA – 07:00    ETD – 14:00
• Day 10-14    At Sea
• Day 15          Bora Bora, Fr. Polynesia    ETA – 11:00    ETD – 18:30 (Tender)
• Day 16          Moorea, Fr. Polynesia        ETA – 07:00    ETD – 23:00 (Tender)
• Day 17          Tahiti, Fr. Polynesia            ETA – 07:00    ETD – 20:00
• Day 18-22     At Sea (miss Jan 28th x’ing Dateline)
• Day 23          Bay of Islands, NZ             ETA – 08:00    ETD – 18:00 (Tender)
• Day 24-26     Auckland, NZ                     ETA – 08:00    ETD – 20:00 (Overnight x 2)
• Day 27          Tauranga, NZ                     ETA – 07:00    ETD – 16:30
• Day 28          Napier, NZ                         ETA – 12:00    ETD – 18:00
• Day 29          Wellington, NZ                  ETA – 09:00     ETD –  18:00
• Day 30          At Sea
• Day 31          Scenic Cruising Milford &  Doubtful Sounds
• Day 32/33     At Sea
• Day 34          Hobart, Australia               ETA – 08:00    ETD – 16:00
• Day 35          Phillip Island, Australia     ETA – 18:00    ETD – 23:59
• Day 36          Melbourne, Australia        ETA – 07:00    ETD – 18:00
• Day 37          At Sea
• Day 38          Eden                                  ETA – 08:00   ETD – 16:00
• Day 39/40     Sydney, Australia              ETA – 07:00   ETD – 18:00 (Overnight)
• Day 41          At Sea
• Day 42          Brisbane, Australia           ETA – 08:00   ETD – 17:00
• Day 43          At Sea
• Day 44          Whitsunday Is, Australia   ETA – 07:30   ETD – 14:00 (Tender) 
• Day 45          Cairns, Australia               ETA – 08:30   ETD – 23:00
• Day 46          At Sea
• Day 47          Thursday Is, Australia       ETA – 08:00   ETD – 18:00
• Day 48-50     At Sea
• Day 51          Komodo Is, Indonesia       ETA –  08:00   ETD – 16:00
• Day 52-54     Bali, Indonesia                  ETA – 12:00   ETD – 22:00
• Day 55          At Sea
• Day 57          Samarang, Indonesia       ETA – 07:00    ETD – 18:00
• Day 58-60     At Sea  
• Day 61-63     Saigon, Vietnam              ETA – 08:00     ETD – 18:00 (Overnight x 2)
• Day 64          At Sea
• Day 65          Koh Samui, Thailand       ETA – 08:00     ETD – 16:00 (Tender)
• Day 66          At Sea
• Day 67/68     Singapore                        ETA – 12:00     ETD – 20:00 (Overnight)
• Day 69          At Sea
• Day 70          Phuket, Thailand             ETA – 08:00    ETD – 18:00 (Tender)
• Day 71          At Sea
• Day 72-74     Yangon, Myanmar          ETA – 08:00    ETD – 1800 (Overnight x 2)
• Day 75-77     At Sea
• Day 78/79     Colombo, Sri Lanka        ETA – 08:00   ETD – 18:00 (Overnight)
• Day 80          At Sea
• Day 81          Cochin, India                   ETA – 07:00   ETD – 18:00
• Day 82          At Sea
• Day 83          Goa, India                       ETA – 07:00   ETD – 18:00
• Day 84-86     Mumba, India                  ETA – 12:00   ETD – 14:00 (Overnight x 2)
• Day 87/88     At Sea 
• Day 89          Salalah, Oman                ETA – 08:00        ETD – 14:00
• Day 90-93     Aqaba, Jordan                ETA – 08:00        ETD – 18:00
• Day 94          Safaga, Egypt                 ETA – TDA          ETD – 22:00
• Day 95          At Sea
• Day 96          Suez Canal Transit
• Day 97/98     Haifa, Israel                    ETA – 07:00        ETD – 18:00 (Overnight) 
• Day 99          At Sea
• Day 100        Rhodes, Greece             ETA – 08:00        ETD – 18:00
• Day 101        Kusadasi, Turkey            ETA – 08:00        ETD – 18:00
• Day 102/103 Istanbul, Turkey              ETA – 18:00        ETD – 22:00 (Overnight)
• Day 104        At Sea
• Day 105        Piraeus, Greece             ETA – 08:00        ETD – 18:00
• Day 106        At Sea
• Day 107        Messina, Italy                 ETA – 08:00        ETD – 18:00
• Day 108        Naples, Italy                   ETA – 08:00        ETD – 18:00
• Day 109        Civitavecchia, Italy         ETA – 08:00        ETD – 18:00
• Day 110        Monte Carlo, Monaco     ETA – 10:00        ETD – 23:00
• Day 111        At Sea
• Day 112        Barcelona, Spain            ETA – 07:00        ETD – 17:30
• Day 113        Cartagena, Spain           ETA – 12:00        ETD – 18:00
• Day 114        At Sea
• Day 115        Lisbon, Portugal             ETA – 08:00        ETD – 17:00
• Day 116/117 At Sea
• Day 118        Le Havre, France           ETA – 07:00        ETD – 21:00
• Day 119        Dover, UK                       ETA – 07:00        ETD – 17:00
• Day 120/121 Greenwich, UK               ETA – 03:00         (overnight)

Itinerary – Compared to 2020 WC

• 2020 departed L/A for 8 days at sea, so we negotiated waiving the deviation fee to arrive early. If we missed the ship, Viking was responsible to get us to the ship in the South Pacific. One couple lost their luggage, which arrived on day 10, in Tahiti. In 2023, they have a day in Santa Barbara, for stragglers or late baggage, before heading to Hawaii.
• Meddy – In 2020 we had minimal ports in the Meddy, while 2023 has an excellent Meddy itinerary. This comes with less coverage in SE Asia, as we miss China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Cambodia and Bangkok.
• We have 66 out of 121 days in port, with port intensive cruises being a Viking hallmark.