What a pleasure to embark again on the Viking Jupiter, after its discovery last August, during a tour of Iceland. The journey is more ambitious this time: a transatlantic from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, for 21 nights. The itinerary will finally be modified several times with the appearance of the Omicron Covid-19 variant which has forced some countries to tighten their entry conditions.
The worst surprise will be for the port of arrival, Buenos Aires. Argentina imposed a 14-day quarantine for all travelers arriving from Africa. We stopped in Mindelo, Cape Verde, a little earlier and it will only have been 12 days since this stopover on our scheduled arrival date. The cruise was therefore extended by 2 days, in order to reach these 14 days of quarantine after our passage on the African continent. Good news for some, bad for others… to respect my return date, Viking organized a disembarkation on the date initially planned, but at the port of Montevideo, Uruguay. I was prepared for this kind of possibility because going on a cruise in 2021 also means being aware of the sanitary rules which change regularly.
Wearing a mask on board was compulsory (except in your cabin, or when you were seated to drink or eat, as well as a certain tolerance outside, if there was no crowd). The ship is again limited in number of passengers, far from its full capacity. The public spaces were therefore calm and there was plenty of space, especially when it came to going to the swimming pool or the spa (to the point of having been there several times alone!).
I have described a long and wide the spaces of this boat which I find perfectly to my liking in my article: the tour of Iceland on the Viking Jupiter.
I find the comfort on board perfect for travelling. Viking also says of its boats that they are made to feel like home. Rather successful. I particularly appreciate that at each place where you can land there is not far an electrical outlet or a USB port. It’s quite rare on the ships of other cruise lines, and so practical!
And the period, a little before the end of the year, lent itself to the Christmas decorations which brought an even warmer side to the ship. The end of the year atmosphere, without children running around (Viking limits its cruises to adults!).
More specifically during this transatlantic cruise, I particularly appreciated the astronomy part. With a specialist in the matter on board, and the help of the dome, this 360° cinema, enthusiasts like me were able to have numerous theoretical and practical presentations (at nightfall, on the upper deck). The common thread was the change of what one could observe while passing from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. Exciting, really.
The ports of call, although modified compared to the trip initially planned (some were cancelled, others added), were all interesting and the shore excursions were free (obvious advantage of the “small” ships and the compulsory vaccination against the mastodons without mandatory vaccinations whose passengers could only leave their boat by booking an excursion). In Barcelona, while passengers from the Costa Smeralda crowded into buses, we could go for a walk freely. What to enjoy the stopover “overnight”!
What a pleasure to walk in Valencia, under a radiant autumn sun…
Or to rediscover Madeira, as if it were still summer (far from Paris, already cold, at the end of November). A total change of scenery!
Read more of the article, next page, about restaurants and food on board…
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