We booked the “Into the Midnight Sun” itinerary aboard the Viking Jupiter, a new ship. The draws were ports of call in the Orkney and Shetland Islands, as well as in Honningsvåg, Norway, above the Arctic Circle.

We had taken a Viking River Cruise (Danube) a couple of years ago and really had enjoyed Viking. Their ocean cruise, however, was horrible – ½ of the ports were impacted (2) or bypassed (2) due to mechanical problems with the new ship. We believe Viking should reimburse us for ½ of the amount of money we paid them for the cruise for the impacted or missed ports, and for the loss of enjoyment of the entire cruise as a consequence. Below are the details.

There were significant changes to the cruise itinerary after a much-delayed departure from London. Passengers embarked the Viking Jupiter on June 30, 2019 at the Greenwich, London docks. Departure was scheduled for midnight on July 1. Early morning, June 2, the ship stopped moving somewhere near the mouth of the Thames estuary. The ship returned to the London Cruise Terminal (Tilbury, UK), a mere 16 miles (26 km) from the Greenwich docks. Passengers were told via ship-wide intercom that the ship had a propulsion problem and Viking was flying in experts to diagnose and hopefully repair the problem. The nature of the problem never was fully disclosed, except to indicate it was something electrical with the propulsion system had failed. The cause definitely was not a force majeure. The mechanical integrity of the ship is something within the Viking’s control and is solely their responsibility. Read more