You are invited to follow along on our summer sailing with Viking Cruises, a 15-day ocean itinerary titled Into The Midnight Sun.  Look first to ChrisCruises on Instagram feed for daily posts while we travel.  As the name of the itinerary implies, we will sail to remote regions of our planet where connectivity could be an issue.  So check right here too (below) for a full list of everything published here and elsewhere while we are live on the ship and later, upon our return home.

First, let’s start with the basics; our itinerary, stateroom and other elements of the Viking experience we already know about. These are simply well-defined, accurate descriptions on the Viking Cruises website.

Follow Our Viking Ocean Cruise
OUR ITINERARY

 

 

Follow Our Viking Ocean Cruise
OUR STATEROOM

Deluxe Veranda Stateroom (DV4)

• Size including private veranda: 270 sq ft
• 11:00 AM embarkation
• 2:00 PM stateroom access
• Priority shore excursion reservations: 67 days prior to departure
• 1 guaranteed priority reservation at each alternative restaurant: 60 days prior to departure
• Priority booking of spa treatments: 60 days prior to departure
• King-size Viking Explorer Bed with luxury linens & pillows
• Free Wi-Fi (connection speed may vary)
• 42″ flat-screen, interactive LCD TV with intuitive remote & complimentary Movies On Demand
• 110/220 volt outlets & USB ports
• Mini-bar with soft drinks, water & snacks (replenished once daily); security safe; hair dryer
• Direct-dial satellite phone & cell service
• Large private bathroom with spacious glass-enclosed shower, heated bathroom floor & anti-fog mirror
• Premium Freyja® toiletries; plush robes & slippers
• Purified water refilled daily
• Stateroom steward & twice-daily housekeeping
• 24-hour room service
• Spacious closet & drawers
• In-suite binoculars, coffee brewer & traditional Norwegian Marius-weave blanket
• View the Deluxe Veranda Stateroom in our 360° Ocean Ship Tour

 

Follow Our Viking Ocean Cruise
WHY YOU SHOULD

Voted #1 Cruise Line by Travel + Leisure magazine, Viking ocean cruises again won first place for the third year in a row as best for starters.  Got your attention? We’re going to find out why.

 

 

Follow Our Viking Ocean Cruise
SCHEDULED GEAR REVIEW

 

As we sail, a number of travel product tests and reviews are underway.  Look for those frank evaluations here in a bit different way than in the past.  We’ll have a complete review after travel, as always.  New this trip, the products as they are being tested.  The hope here is to add a bit more depth to travel gear reviews…like I want you to see this product as we use it, regardless of the results.  Past reviews that ended poorly direct those products to the travel gear reject box to be used from time to time in posts with a name like Travel Gear Review Rejects from time to time.  Here’s what we’re looking at this time:

Helly Hansen
Skagen Offshore Jacket

Our itinerary takes us to some very diverse parts of the world as we sail into the Midnight Sun. I have a Helly Hansen rain jacket that is just perfect for travel, folds up small to have handy when needed and has lasted a very long time. This is a jacket that when the zipper finally wore out, I had it replaced rather than replacing the entire garment.  That will be coming along too.  As part of the Helly Hansen Demo Team, I will also be testing a new product, their Skagen Offshore Jacket ($350).  Helly Hansen describes the product:

“Skagen is the Jacket for Offshore and Coastal sailing that requires a Protective Jacket with full protection against wind and waves. Having Solutions developed with our professional sailors and a sturdy HellyTech Performance 2 ply fabrication with mesh lining for comfort. Fully featured with a protective collar with a facemask, double cuffs and hand warmer and storage pockets. The perfect Jacket for adventures like sailing across from Norway to Denmark where your first sight of land likely will be the Skagen Lighthouse.”

This nicely designed itinerary from Viking Cruises begins in London and continues to Scotland, Denmark then Norway.  This itinerary is titled Into The Midnight Sun.  That term, midnight sun, is probably familiar to travelers who have been to Alaska.  In posts like

Nikon
D750

On this trip we make the jump to full frame images, testing a Nikon D-750 with a variety of Nikkor FX glass we have been collecting for just this purpose.  This is actually a story in progress that has been heading in this direction for years. Basically, a full frame sensor enables a bigger canvas on which to capture your image which seems to be a process with my name written all over it. The benefits of this product should address many issues that I don’t want to talk about right now or this post will be 10,000 words without blinking.

A friend of mine is a world-class photographer, the kind of person who hangs out of helicopters to shoot ships and landscapes.  Of my photography ability, he said  “You have a lot of work to do for your skills to catch up with your eyes”.  I appreciated that thought and have had it rolling around in my head for months.

See the good Crop vs Full Frame discussion at SLRLounge for more on this topic.

 

K&F Concepts
Aluminium Camera Tripod

In the past, I used a small portable tripod when needed but generally did not want to lug it around. When I made the move to traveling with carry-on only luggage, I had to cut down on gear so that tripod became an optional item.  That same photographer who offered that frank assessment of my photo skills began a list of recommendations with ‘there is no single move you could make to improve the quality of your (photo) production than using a tripod more” which makes perfect sense.  Still, we are heading to a beautiful part of the world where deep-cut fjords along the Norwegian coast make for marvelous photo opportunities.  But then doesn’t everywhere a cruise ship takes us include good stuff we want to remember?   Sure it does so these skills gained will apply to future trips as well…especially Alaska, also a land of the Midnight sun.

Stay tuned- I have a couple surprises coming up you’ll want to know about!…more soon as we make our way from Orlando to London with American Airlines.

 

EASY
Instagram is how it’s happening

Updated throughout the sailing while gathering images and information to share in depth over the next few months.