Thank you so much for watching! It really does mean the world to us! Please give this video a THUMBS UP, please SUBSCRIBE and please leave us a comment too as we'd love to know your thoughts and value your feedback (oh and also we’d LOVE to hear from you). R&H x
Excellent detailed overview of the ship!! We were on Octantis’s second voyage to Antarctica. It was sincerely a trip of a lifetime. Viking’s Expedition Team in addition to all other staff were 1st class!
We would love to go to Antarctica on one of these fabulous ships, we imagine it would be an incredible experience, especially, like you say, with the fabulous expedition team 😍 Thanks for watching.
Since seeing you were on this ship, I've been so excited to see your content hitting TH-cam. These ships are just absolutely stunning, and everything they're capable of is just SO impressive!
Excellent tour and review of the Polaris! I really can't wait to try out these ships, they genuinely look like the most impressive expedition ships ever built.
SOOOOO excited to see this. I should have known it would be you who brought me Polaris and Octantis! Thank you, thank you!! I love all of your content, but the expedition stuff is just something special.
Such a cozy, swish ship that is equally as classy as it appears contemporary while embracing the fact that it’s a ship! The theming is so delightfully satisfying without being tacky. And I think that’s a feat not easy to accomplish. Really goes to show what Viking can do with more ship to work with.
Hi Rich. Great to see your channel growing so much. I remember watching back when you had your first 5000 subscribers, always love the informative, well spoken and sometimes cheeky commentary! You’ve always had what I’d describe as - a silky articulate voice, and your content really keeps in this theme! Keep it up, you’re definitely one of my favourite cruise/travel content creators, who never fails to give your subscribers a vicarious voyage every time!
Hi, thanks for another nice Video🎉. I did Not have Viking one my list, but now, I think it is definitively a try. The scandinavian Design ist soo nice❤.
Even though I'm in my 20s, doing a Viking Expedition to Antarctica is a life goal of mine ever since I learned what they do and how they do it. The ships, the equipment, the science and exploration themed activities, and the inclusions all seem incredible. One day!
Great video. We’ve done 7 river and ocean cruises with Viking, so it’s great to see so much that is familiar and so much that is new and exciting. Will look forward to the itinerary video.
Bravo, Helen and Rich! What a beautiful, interesting, and informative video about a gorgeous and technologically-advanced ship. You put this one together quickly and it turned out fabulous!
This ship is so technologically "advanced" that it obviously has safety restrictions put in place by the authorities for certain bad weather conditions and required an upgraded special wave radar system... 🤣
We haven’t sailed on Silversea’s expedition ship, Silver Endeavour, but imagine it’s a lovely ship. The Viking ships are stunning and honestly don’t think you would go far wrong with either. Viking ships are a little bigger so this might be a deciding factor, along with things like budget, itinerary etc.
An absolutely amazing ship and I will definitely be booking one of them in the next couple of years. A great video as always, thanks so much for sharing.
Totally agree. I am local in Toronto and cannot imagine spending that much to see the great lakes. It is basically the same as Antarctica. Everything about it seems great except the price is several multiples above what I would pay given the bucket list adventures I could do for the same price. Maybe one just doesn't value what's in one's backyard.
Yes, you're right, it IS expensive! This is partially due to supply and demand. Very, very few ships can operate in the Great Lakes so the audience is quite captive. Like any product, if demand outstrips supply, then the price will reflect that. :)
Agree. If you LIVE in an area you'd be perplexed as to why people would pay so much. But for us, these locations are special. Also, Antarctica is expensive not just for the demand/supply issue but for the amount of safety cost and skilled crew, guides etc. It ain't the Med you know! :D
Hi Rich and Helen. Yes, there is a marked difference between the reviews of a "Traditionalist Cruise Reviewer" and an "Adventurous Explorer." In the ways of, if your primary itch is a cruise ship, with its traditional machinations, and you are unable to release the braces on your brains, then don't waste your time. BUT, if you are Adventurous and have an Explorer's Spirit, then by all means, take a Viking Expedition Voyage !! You won't be disappointed.
YES Jeremy, you're spot on. These ships are NOT for the casual cruiser, which is why things that the mega ship cruiser would expect are not there thus they would be disappointed. These as you say, are for the adventurer, who sees cruising as the best way of seeking out those hard to reach lands and inaccessible places. :)
Haha! We wish! We're just very lucky that we get invited to go on all these incredible ships we can so we can produce videos for everyone to watch! We create content just for this channel, but it tends to be popular so... ;)
Sorry, we haven’t sailed on Scenic or Silversea’s expedition ships so can’t really compare it with them. However, it’s a great ship with some lovely features and we would love to go to Antarctica on her 👍
As beautiful as these two ship are (and thank you Rich&Helen for the super video 😘) it is WELL WORTH reading the accident report of the Antarctica incident by the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (especially section 2.5.2). 🚩This ship type seems to have a design flaw with the windows on deck 2 being too low and unable to withstand strong breaking waves in very adverse weather conditions which for example the Drake passage is very well known for.
Thank you for watching and your kind comments. Regarding the incident, rouge waves can pretty much strike at any time and Polaris was unfortunate to be in wrong place, wrong time, but it could've happed to any ship. Small ships balcony windows are going to be nearer the water simply because of their relative size. I don't think it's a design flaw, more just a fact of scale.
@@visitwithus Well, the safety experts have a different opinion on that. After reading their report and the safety recommendations given (to strengthen the windows, install a wave radar and to follow strict operational procedure in rough seas) I wouldn‘t dare to go through the Drake passage on this vessel. I suggest you read the report… Very interesting for a ship geek… 😉
@@PK-hc8wu Thanks. It's just my opinion, but I'd be 100% confident of doing the Drake in these ships. A rogue wave is a rogue wave. One nearly capsized the QE2 once. You should look that one up. Scary stuff! :)
@@visitwithus Don‘t we all love scary stuff 😀👍🏻 „While awaiting a revision of class requirements, the board called on the Norwegian Maritime Authority to ensure that the operator of Viking Polaris and Viking Octantis "makes reinforcements" to ensure that breaking waves do not damage windows. AIBN called for a "robust" window design solution that accounts for breaking waves, not just operational measures to control risk. The wave that struck Viking Polaris has been described as a "rogue" wave of unusual and unexpected size, but AIBN noted that abnormally large waves are a regular occurrence in this region. "In the Drake Passage and in the area where the accident occurred, winds are blowing with wind speeds that could give breaking waves a significant proportion of the year," AIBN wrote. "Under these wind conditions, the sea will build up and Viking Polaris and its sister ship Viking Octantis may therefore be exposed to breaking waves in the side." Source: The Maritime Executive
Thanks for another great video. We are scheduled for a Great Lakes trip with Viking next year. I believe the red door leads to the private dining room. Jim
My wife and I have been on several Viking cruises, both river and ocean. Viking thinks very highly of themselves and have slick marketing targeting Americans. Sadly, they do charge a premium for their upscale advertising that Americans are willing to happily pay. As you can guess, we are not fans after numerous trips with them. Now we have not been on the Viking Expedition ships as the price they charge is really targeted for the gullible. The ships do look quite nice though, very advanced. Others will disagree but that is why there are many cruise lines to choose from. Our choice is Oceana for better food and more elegant atmosphere, especially the new Vista.
Be warned, by was our worst ever viking cruise on this boat, and we have now done 12 cruises We did a trip from New York to Toronto There are the following problems with the boat. 1. Check they are now allowed to run all their expedition boats in Canada 2 In the lecture theatre, which ascend steeply from front to back,there is no central rail and in rough seas, it is very difficult to climb the steps. 3. The buffet area runs the length of the boat and alot of walking is involved to find all your food 4. The main restaurant was not open for breakfast, and we thought and were just serving up food available in the buffet. 5. They were serving up orange squash instead of fresh orange juice 6. The swimming pool is not practical since it is too narrow. Only about 2 people can use it at once.
Sorry to hear you didn't have the best time. :( I can only answer the things I know: 1. I think they DO run both in Canada, no problem. We had no problem with Zodiacs but the Special Ops boat was not running due to a tech isuue, not regulations. 2. Noted about the rail, but we didn't notice the absence of one. 3. All buffets are pretty much linear in design. No different to a buffet on any other mid size ship. 4. Main restaurants on these size of ship are often only open for dinner. There's only 350-odd guests after all and I've not heard of anyone complaining about it - the World Cafe is more than enough for most. 5. Can't confirm this because I don't drink juices. I'd be very surprised if this was a fact. 6. The pool is perfectly proportioned to the size of the ship. These are plunge pools at best. A ship this size will never have something you can properly swim in, unless like Ponant, they have a swim trainer built in. Did you enjoy the Nordic Spa pool? We loved that. :)
Thanks for watching. We were wondering the same thing but were assured by the expedition leaders that they manage it well on Antarctica cruises. Obviously in the Great Lakes it wasn’t an issue but we’ve yet to cruise Antarctica with Viking so can’t comment on their assurances. They’re very comfortable ships though 👍
Thank you so much for watching! It really does mean the world to us! Please give this video a THUMBS UP, please SUBSCRIBE and please leave us a comment too as we'd love to know your thoughts and value your feedback (oh and also we’d LOVE to hear from you). R&H x
Excellent detailed overview of the ship!! We were on Octantis’s second voyage to Antarctica. It was sincerely a trip of a lifetime. Viking’s Expedition Team in addition to all other staff were 1st class!
We would love to go to Antarctica on one of these fabulous ships, we imagine it would be an incredible experience, especially, like you say, with the fabulous expedition team 😍
Thanks for watching.
Since seeing you were on this ship, I've been so excited to see your content hitting TH-cam. These ships are just absolutely stunning, and everything they're capable of is just SO impressive!
Thanks Fraser. Yes, there was VERY little to pick holes in. When a ship is so well thought out like these, you can only but admire a good job! :D
Excellent tour and review of the Polaris! I really can't wait to try out these ships, they genuinely look like the most impressive expedition ships ever built.
Thank you for watching and for your kind comment 😊
SOOOOO excited to see this. I should have known it would be you who brought me Polaris and Octantis! Thank you, thank you!! I love all of your content, but the expedition stuff is just something special.
Thank you for your kind words and for watching, we’re so glad you enjoyed it 👍
Looks incredible! What a wonderful combination of luxury, comfort, and access to remote places!
Indeed 👍
Thanks for watching.
Such a cozy, swish ship that is equally as classy as it appears contemporary while embracing the fact that it’s a ship! The theming is so delightfully satisfying without being tacky. And I think that’s a feat not easy to accomplish. Really goes to show what Viking can do with more ship to work with.
💯
Thanks for watching
Hi Rich. Great to see your channel growing so much. I remember watching back when you had your first 5000 subscribers, always love the informative, well spoken and sometimes cheeky commentary! You’ve always had what I’d describe as - a silky articulate voice, and your content really keeps in this theme! Keep it up, you’re definitely one of my favourite cruise/travel content creators, who never fails to give your subscribers a vicarious voyage every time!
Hey, thank you for staying with us and for your kind words 😊
Hi, thanks for another nice Video🎉. I did Not have Viking one my list, but now, I think it is definitively a try. The scandinavian Design ist soo nice❤.
Thank you Karsten. We absolutely LOVE the Scandi designs and the details. It's so thoughfully put together and feels luxurious but un-fussy. :)
Even though I'm in my 20s, doing a Viking Expedition to Antarctica is a life goal of mine ever since I learned what they do and how they do it. The ships, the equipment, the science and exploration themed activities, and the inclusions all seem incredible. One day!
Thanks for watching! Yes, these ships appeal to ALL ages and you'd absolutely LOVE it! :D
Me too!! Too bad they never have solo deals
@@alex9621 Rarely!
You must like hanging out with the average Viking passengers… 75 years and older.
@ What on EARTH do you have against 75 year olds? 😂
Great video. We’ve done 7 river and ocean cruises with Viking, so it’s great to see so much that is familiar and so much that is new and exciting. Will look forward to the itinerary video.
Thank you, and thanks for watching 😍
I’ve been waiting for this for weeks. We have booked a Toronto back2back 2026 Octantis
Oooh, we hope you enjoy! :D
Thank you for the video. It looks like a wonderful ship.
Glad you enjoyed it. She's a wonderful ship! :D
Bravo, Helen and Rich! What a beautiful, interesting, and informative video about a gorgeous and technologically-advanced ship. You put this one together quickly and it turned out fabulous!
This ship is so technologically "advanced" that it obviously has safety restrictions put in place by the authorities for certain bad weather conditions and required an upgraded special wave radar system... 🤣
Thank you so much! Took me all week to put this together lol! Appreciate the love! :D
Not sure I know what you're talking about...
I’m looking to do Antarctica cruise soon. And lean towards comfort luxury. Do you suggest Viking, silver sea or any other.
We haven’t sailed on Silversea’s expedition ship, Silver Endeavour, but imagine it’s a lovely ship. The Viking ships are stunning and honestly don’t think you would go far wrong with either. Viking ships are a little bigger so this might be a deciding factor, along with things like budget, itinerary etc.
An absolutely amazing ship and I will definitely be booking one of them in the next couple of years. A great video as always, thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks Lou 😊
This looks incredible
These two ships are amongst the best we've ever experienced. Outstanding! :D
Great video!
Thank you 👍
Great video . Ships look great but how does the older target clients couple with the technology onboard
Hi! I didn't hear of any difficulty with the tech. It's all very intuitive. :)
I would love to do the Great Lakes. But it is so expensive compared to other itineraries.
Totally agree. I am local in Toronto and cannot imagine spending that much to see the great lakes. It is basically the same as Antarctica. Everything about it seems great except the price is several multiples above what I would pay given the bucket list adventures I could do for the same price. Maybe one just doesn't value what's in one's backyard.
Yes, you're right, it IS expensive! This is partially due to supply and demand. Very, very few ships can operate in the Great Lakes so the audience is quite captive. Like any product, if demand outstrips supply, then the price will reflect that. :)
Agree. If you LIVE in an area you'd be perplexed as to why people would pay so much. But for us, these locations are special. Also, Antarctica is expensive not just for the demand/supply issue but for the amount of safety cost and skilled crew, guides etc. It ain't the Med you know! :D
@@visitwithus fair point, they are always sold out, so I guess the price is fair. I would rather do Antarctica though.
The Finse Terrace is likely named after Karin Hagen's (Viking Chairman's daughter) dog Finse, that features in a range of children's books.
Thank you for this 👍
And thanks for watching 😊
Hi Rich and Helen. Yes, there is a marked difference between the reviews of a "Traditionalist Cruise Reviewer" and an "Adventurous Explorer."
In the ways of, if your primary itch is a cruise ship, with its traditional machinations, and you are unable to release the braces on your brains, then don't waste your time.
BUT, if you are Adventurous and have an Explorer's Spirit, then by all means, take a Viking Expedition Voyage !! You won't be disappointed.
YES Jeremy, you're spot on. These ships are NOT for the casual cruiser, which is why things that the mega ship cruiser would expect are not there thus they would be disappointed. These as you say, are for the adventurer, who sees cruising as the best way of seeking out those hard to reach lands and inaccessible places. :)
I would love to do a cruise on one of these ships
Thanks for watching. Hope you get the chance one day 🤞👍
Damn, did you guys win the lottery or something? How do you pay for all these luxury cruises?
Haha! We wish! We're just very lucky that we get invited to go on all these incredible ships we can so we can produce videos for everyone to watch! We create content just for this channel, but it tends to be popular so... ;)
this look better than Scenic and silver sea. Is it so ?
Sorry, we haven’t sailed on Scenic or Silversea’s expedition ships so can’t really compare it with them. However, it’s a great ship with some lovely features and we would love to go to Antarctica on her 👍
WOW! If I ever come into money this is how I will spend it
🤞🤞🤞
Thanks for watching Christine 👍
As beautiful as these two ship are (and thank you Rich&Helen for the super video 😘) it is WELL WORTH reading the accident report of the Antarctica incident by the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (especially section 2.5.2). 🚩This ship type seems to have a design flaw with the windows on deck 2 being too low and unable to withstand strong breaking waves in very adverse weather conditions which for example the Drake passage is very well known for.
Thank you for watching and your kind comments. Regarding the incident, rouge waves can pretty much strike at any time and Polaris was unfortunate to be in wrong place, wrong time, but it could've happed to any ship. Small ships balcony windows are going to be nearer the water simply because of their relative size. I don't think it's a design flaw, more just a fact of scale.
@@visitwithus Well, the safety experts have a different opinion on that. After reading their report and the safety recommendations given (to strengthen the windows, install a wave radar and to follow strict operational procedure in rough seas) I wouldn‘t dare to go through the Drake passage on this vessel. I suggest you read the report… Very interesting for a ship geek… 😉
@@PK-hc8wu Thanks. It's just my opinion, but I'd be 100% confident of doing the Drake in these ships. A rogue wave is a rogue wave. One nearly capsized the QE2 once. You should look that one up. Scary stuff! :)
@@visitwithus Don‘t we all love scary stuff 😀👍🏻
„While awaiting a revision of class requirements, the board called on the Norwegian Maritime Authority to ensure that the operator of Viking Polaris and Viking Octantis "makes reinforcements" to ensure that breaking waves do not damage windows. AIBN called for a "robust" window design solution that accounts for breaking waves, not just operational measures to control risk.
The wave that struck Viking Polaris has been described as a "rogue" wave of unusual and unexpected size, but AIBN noted that abnormally large waves are a regular occurrence in this region. "In the Drake Passage and in the area where the accident occurred, winds are blowing with wind speeds that could give breaking waves a significant proportion of the year," AIBN wrote. "Under these wind conditions, the sea will build up and Viking Polaris and its sister ship Viking Octantis may therefore be exposed to breaking waves in the side."
Source: The Maritime Executive
Thanks for another great video. We are scheduled for a Great Lakes trip with Viking next year. I believe the red door leads to the private dining room. Jim
Thanks Jim! I think you'll have a brilliant time. Ah, the red door! I never thought of that and forgot to ask lol! :D
I was hoping to do a pole to pole cruise, but then they pulled the plug 😟
Oh no! I thought that was still going ahead! What an adventure! :D
Notice that Carnival Corp, sold Seabourn's new expedition vessels; making Viking the true Luxury expedition leader.
They haven't sold them (yet), only the Odyssey. Who know's what's going on at Seabourn!
My wife and I have been on several Viking cruises, both river and ocean. Viking thinks very highly of themselves and have slick marketing targeting Americans. Sadly, they do charge a premium for their upscale advertising that Americans are willing to happily pay. As you can guess, we are not fans after numerous trips with them. Now we have not been on the Viking Expedition ships as the price they charge is really targeted for the gullible. The ships do look quite nice though, very advanced. Others will disagree but that is why there are many cruise lines to choose from. Our choice is Oceana for better food and more elegant atmosphere, especially the new Vista.
Thanks for watching and for your comment. We would love to try Oceania Vista and have heard only good things about it 👍
Be warned, by was our worst ever viking cruise on this boat, and we have now done 12 cruises
We did a trip from New York to Toronto
There are the following problems with the boat.
1. Check they are now allowed to run all their expedition boats in Canada
2 In the lecture theatre, which ascend steeply from front to back,there is no central rail and in rough seas, it is very difficult to climb the steps.
3. The buffet area runs the length of the boat and alot of walking is involved to find all your food
4. The main restaurant was not open for breakfast, and we thought and were just serving up food available in the buffet.
5. They were serving up orange squash instead of fresh orange juice
6. The swimming pool is not practical since it is too narrow. Only about 2 people can use it at once.
Sorry to hear you didn't have the best time. :( I can only answer the things I know:
1. I think they DO run both in Canada, no problem. We had no problem with Zodiacs but the Special Ops boat was not running due to a tech isuue, not regulations.
2. Noted about the rail, but we didn't notice the absence of one.
3. All buffets are pretty much linear in design. No different to a buffet on any other mid size ship.
4. Main restaurants on these size of ship are often only open for dinner. There's only 350-odd guests after all and I've not heard of anyone complaining about it - the World Cafe is more than enough for most.
5. Can't confirm this because I don't drink juices. I'd be very surprised if this was a fact.
6. The pool is perfectly proportioned to the size of the ship. These are plunge pools at best. A ship this size will never have something you can properly swim in, unless like Ponant, they have a swim trainer built in. Did you enjoy the Nordic Spa pool? We loved that. :)
Ships are much too large to be “expedition.” too many passengers ruin any unique travel experience. Will stay with Quark or Lindblad for such voyages.
Thanks for watching. We were wondering the same thing but were assured by the expedition leaders that they manage it well on Antarctica cruises. Obviously in the Great Lakes it wasn’t an issue but we’ve yet to cruise Antarctica with Viking so can’t comment on their assurances. They’re very comfortable ships though 👍