Join Bret Dalgaard and Jon Brenneman for a fun and informative webinar which will save you hundreds on your next Viking cruise.
everyone my name is John brenaman and I’m the president here at MOA vacation we are joined today by Brad dard with uh Viking uh River Viking ocean and Viking uh Expedition cruises uh so I want to thank everybody for joining us uh today uh we are uh as we often do with these webinars uh we are recording this um so tomorrow you’ll get an email with a link to this webinar so if there’s anything that you want to revisit we started right at the top of the hour so if 35 minutes Brett says 35 minutes in Brett says something uh that piques your interest just kind of make a mental note of that or jot it down and then when you get the video um instead of watching it all the way through you can just fast forward to that moment um I’m going to talk about it more in a little bit but you are invited to uh bring friends and family along uh and you will be eligible for all of the Moa discounts and the Moa uh special amenities uh so feel free to share the webinar with any friends and family who you think might be interested as well um I’m going to talk real quick in just a second uh and then I’m going to turn it over to Brett uh he has a lot to cover with basically oceans Expeditions and rivers to talk about today um but uh once I turn it over to Brett if you have any questions if you take your cursor uh and kind of put it at the bottom of the screen or however uh depending on what kind of advice you’re on uh you’ll see a couple of uh conversation bubbles come up that say Q&A uh feel free to just drop your questions right in there uh I will be answering questions during Brett’s presentation if it is something that I think everyone will be interested in uh we will revisit it at the end because when Brett gets done we will do a Q&A uh and both of us will hang out until we get all the questions answered so um some of them I’ll answer uh during Brett’s presentation the ones that I think might be universally interested we’ll talk about at the very end make sure that everyone’s clear on everything uh Viking has to offer so um first thing real quick before we get into um into the Viking aspect of it for those of you I think we had almost 250 people register for today’s webinar so I think it’s the largest one we’ve had yet this year uh so thanks everybody for signing up um we do have a number of people who this is first webinar so I always like to start out and talk a little bit about MOA vacation so I have this slide right here which basically kind of tries to uh summarize everything that we offer that uh makes us uh different from other travel agencies um in in kind of just four kind of bullet points so the first thing we always talk about is our Superior Service um the way I always address this is is we are and we continue to be the only travel agency to offer uh travel on a satisfaction guarantee basis if you have any issue or problem or concern uh prior to your cruise or during your cruise you will uh either talk to myself uh if anybody has issues I talked about 90% of the clients there are some instances uh where if I’m traveling or I’m un available mik Tyrell or vice president will handle them but if you have an issue of concern it goes immediately to management um and literally we just ask you what it’s going to take to uh resolve that to your satisfaction we make that happen we do have a lowest price gear guantee um this one used we used to only have three points I used to kind of put lowest price guarantee in with satisfaction guarantee uh my assumption always was no one would ever be satisfied if they paid too much for their crws um but people like to hear that so we actually have separated that out now uh we do have a free amenity program with a number of our preferred vendors and in fact offering a MOA exclusive amenity is one of the things we require uh for cruise line or tour company can be deemed one of our preferred suppliers and show up in our newsletters and military officer magazine uh Viking does participate um if you book any Viking ocean Viking river or Viking Expedition Cruise in the month of July um you will receive $100 per person uh shipboard credit this would apply to all of the bookings you made so if you made multiple bookings this would apply to all of them and if you brought friends or family along they would receive the same $100 per person shipboard credit uh and then the final thing we always talk about is we do offer group opportunities this is your opportunity to travel with not only family and friends but with fellow MOA members in your city or your local chapter as well as MOA members from all across the country I can tell you that the the members who go on these groups uh the feedback we get is phenomenal because the added camaraderie uh of going with fellow members uh and sharing the experience of like-minded people with people with similar background so um that’s really in a nutshell uh in in two minutes or less I guess is kind of why we are the official travel agency for Moa is because of the package of services and savings that we offer so without any further Ado I know everybody showed up today to listen to Brett talk about Viking and everything they have going on with their is it 100 ships yet Brett I know you were going to pass that Threshold at some point yeah we’re right at 100 chips now right at 100 chips we hit it wooo alrighty uh well here’s to the next 100 right exactly okay all right well everybody I’m gonna turn my camera off as I mentioned I’m going to be answering questions uh while Brett’s talking and then when Brett’s finished uh we’ll do a Q&A then as well so Brett take it away thank you very much John and uh so glad to be here to to share a little bit more about Viking uh thankful uh to to have the chance to speak to the Moa members and uh thank you for your service to those uh of you and uh really want to to Showcase uh the value in in Viking and and share a little bit more about some of the itineraries the offerings uh my name is Brett delgard I’ve been with Viking almost seven years now uh majority of the time was actually working on board uh in Excursion operations as a manager and then a hotel General Manager on our ocean Expedition as well as our River ships uh so really want to share my expertise about the product and uh as John mentioned we’re ever growing uh the demand has been uh out there and so we’ve had more and more Ships Come online so about a 100 ships now uh and uh really want to to offer you destinations all around the world so uh seven continents were’re at 85 different countries uh over 475 or 484 courts of call around the world um you know all the oceans we really want to get uh out and and see everywhere the last question that we ask our guests uh before they depart is where we where can we take you next and we want to grow more and more destinations even closer to home uh we have places along the Mississippi and the Great Lakes uh so really do uh like to to take guest around the world explore those destinations as well as uh come a little bit closer to home now with this uh our Viking difference is something we’re very very proud of and that’s that we’re destination focused culturally enriching and carefully curated all of the decisions that Viking makes uh are intentional and so we’re very intentional on where we go uh how we set up our state rooms the amenities we choose and one of the biggest things that I think we’re very intentional with is the crew that we choose and uh and that’s where we carefully uh curate uh you know our trainings and everything uh that sets up our crew and our crew standards we take very good uh care of our crew which and then takes care of our guests and I think our guests through and through uh when they come home from a destination they talk about the experiences in those ports of call and they also talk about that high level of service and the experience they have with our crew now our our philosophy is a little bit different than some others and uh we very much uh want to focus on like-minded individuals and the destination so we say that we’re not everything to everyone um and so if if there are certain demographics or groups of say families with children um we don’t necessarily have the perfect uh cruise for them uh but we do have uh itineraries for like-minded individuals uh those who are again like I said destination oriented um it’s a highly inclusive product very much focused on the value we don’t want to nickel and dime uh we want to uh provide a very inclusive product throughout the Excursion or throughout the travel too uh The Experience on board as well as some of our pre- and post extensions and as I mentioned earlier our crew is is very much part of that high level uh value and uh we think we hire some of the best and we also retain most of our crew do come back season after season whether that be on our European riverways or our retention on our oceans which really stands to say the experience our crew are able to provide Our Guest now value is that uh that main focus I had mentioned and uh here are a few of the amenities or the uh added included value that we have for our guests and as we go through some of this I know some of you may have taken a viking uh cruise before or maybe you’re new to Viking uh but these are things that aren’t standard across all the industry so uh things like a complimentary Shore Excursion and this is not an Excursion that just takes you to the center of town and drops you off but a inclusive uh experience with a local guide we have our own audio systems our own coaches uh we really want to make sure that if you only have two to three hours in a destination we take you to those highlights uh of that location and then for the rest of the day you’re able to go off and explore on your own or if you want a second tour a more intimate tour uh those are available as well so the included Excursion really is that highlight tour uh highlighting what you would really want to see in those locations the additional items are things like uh free Wi-Fi all of of our meals including our specialty dining is included you just need reservations for our specialty dining uh we have 24-hour room service on our ocean and expedition in uh Mississippi we have all kinds of different items um beer wine and soft drinks are included at lunch and dinner and our specialty coffees all of those items uh we take our guests to Unique experiences like UNESCO world heritage sites uh we really want to make it focused on that destination by bringing on uh enrichment lectures and performances so uh more and more that is included and you find that uh even things like bottled water which will be provided at the gang way as you head off on excursions they’ll be uh at the coaches as well as when you come back if you want to take uh water back to your room though we have water in your rooms as well so again a very inclusive value and you know part of the experience with with Viking I mentioned like-minded individuals we we like to say that we are the thinking person’s proves and uh some might say the thinking persons not the drinking persons but uh as you see here we do of course serve some wonderful wines and spirits throughout uh but we share about the wines and spirits you see the the chef going into the menus and sharing why the pairings of the wines work so well uh we really focus on those destinations and if you’re traveling around the the Rind of course we’re going to have those German reings or German beers uh we really want to to bring the destination to you uh through the menus as well and so we we take care of that um we have a lot of options for our guests to get to know the uh the destinations before you go whether that be uh viking.tv a web-based uh TV series or TV channel uh you can go on there and there’s information about destinations about food culture music uh all of the destinations we travel to you simply search uh for the destination and multiple episodes will come up uh about those uh those regions now each day there’s a new episode so if you are interested it’s viking.tv and it’s uh it’s through any web browser and it’s really great uh I mentioned some of the other items once you get on board we have curated libraries we have our destination speakers again so much to to Really showcase where you’re traveling to the history the culture and then as I mentioned those flavors and uh here’s a few of the elements that we do to uh to bring those flavors to you on board the ship uh whether that be go out in the port of with the chef who goes to a local market or coming back to enjoy something like our Taste of events where the chef will curate a menu for the evening to highlight whether that be a taste of France uh a taste of Holland uh again a full buffet or option uh for you on that evening to highlight the destinations uh on our ocean ships uh we’ll always have uh additional items in the World Cafe and then in our main dining room we’ll always have the right hand side of the menu as as a destination focused menu and the left hand side will be the American classic so you can always have uh chicken steak salmon salads all of those will be available but the right hand side fully focused on the destination or region that you’re traveling to now I mentioned a lot of things that Viking is and uh I also have to highlight a few of the things that Viking is not and uh I mentioned the the families are children uh so we are no children so everyone must be over 18 we say we love our children or grandchildren but not everyone else’s so a nice way for you to again travel with like-minded individuals no casinos it’s uh something that some people wish they had but we actually think it’s a huge benefit in that we’re able to stay in ports of call as long as possible because we don’t have to go out to international waters uh to uh to open those casinos uh no umbrellas or art auctions photographers trying to upsell you you can still get those uh those fancy drinks but we just won’t put that uh umbrella in there a drink of the day we really want to to focus again on that level of service uh we’re very much inclusive so we’re not going to charge you for a number of additional items even included the spa on our ocean and Expedition uh you’re able to go in and use the uh the fitness and the spa the steam the sauna all of those rooms are available for you uh really again that no nickel and daming with that high high level of service all to give you a very inclusive product now I men mentioned uh the destination being a huge element of that and with the destination comes our tour and our tour experience and I have a short video I’m hoping uh this little audio will go through uh that uh will kind of highlight uh the experience of going on a tour with Vikings so here we have that at Viking we offer our guests the iconic and the expected of course but we also appreciate that we’re all different while I might be interested in more of a local life experience a visit to a farmer’s market in France or home visit along the vulga river in Russia others might be more interested in understanding how a local economy works so they might be interested in a factory visit or on a smaller scale a visit with a Portuguese maker my record so local life and working worlds are experiences that we include for our guests and then we have privileged access and that really is privileged we open doors to places that otherwise aren’t open we share some of our friends homes and palaces and castles around the world that they otherwise wouldn’t share with just anybody we open Museum mums before and after closing out and we provide our guests with experiences that are not um viable these owners appreciate that the Viking guest is different the Viking guest is traveling to learn the Viking guest is traveling to connect hosts in various destinations actually really enjoy sharing their world with our guests because it’s a mutually rewarding experience and what I enjoy very much is seeing that it’s not just our guests with big smiles on their faces it’s also our hosts everybody leaves pleased and and that’s hugely rewarding the Viking Way local life working world and privileged access it’s a commitment to make sure that we do everything we can to give our guests real experiences and privileged experiences beyond their expectations that’s what sets us apart from many other Cruise Lines that’s the Viking Way yes so the the highlight of that video is to to to kind of talk about the elements of our excursions and and how we experience the destinations through local life working world and privileged access so uh Karina Hogan our our Chairman’s daughter who is in that video really goes to show what the those experience are like and you know local life um you know how people live and what they do from day to day whether that be going uh to a local bakery and and tasting some of the foods or uh into a restaurant uh walking along and seeing some of the the windmills and some of those items going to a university we go to um the heidleberg University where you can actually meet students have lunch with students and understand what life is like uh the Working World where you’re actually able to go into the windmills along Kinder Dy and see how they work factories whether it be a farm or a a cheese um you know Factory really getting to see why people stopped and and started building uh lives along that River and uh or Port of Call and then the privileged access which uh also mentions uh being able to go places where not others are able to go and opening up doors which are usually locked to the public and so uh we’re able to work with different museums or locations uh to to go in whether that be the cine Chapel where you go in with the gatekeeper first thing in the morning and you don’t stand in the crowds and you’re not rushed through but you’re able to actually go through and experience and see things at a much higher level so uh privileged access is something we’re very very proud of and we have those on all of our itineraries where we can show show you areas that most do not see now very very proud of the the three different products that we have with River ocean and Expedition and River really is where we’ve uh We’ve started uh and where we’ve continued to see our guests come back over and over and over and we were just recently named number one with Condon Nast and travel and Leisure and that’s based on our guest feedback that’s not an award that we can buy but that’s something based on uh the guest experience and part of that is the design of our ships uh obviously uh the locks on the Rind the mine the danu many of the river ways uh State how large we can actually build our vessel but we’ve designed them in ways where we maximize the space and give our guests so much public areas and open space like our Aqua Terrace there on the bow of the ship most ships use that for ropes and anchors and things we use that as Alfresco dining and a place for guests to enjoy uh whether it’s coming or going uh in and out of a port or a nice place to have a barbecue lunch uh that’s uh so so nice to to see now we have no inside stateroom so you see the nice windows and Verandas all along uh the front windows going into the dining room as well as the the living room or the main kind of uh fcal presentation area but uh so much to see and the Scandinavian design is a lot of that as well with the floor to ceiling windows and natural light uh the Scandinavian Winters are usually quite dark with not as much sunlight so light color really do fill the areas um and we want to make sure the destination Remains the focus and so those floor to sealing lights or Flor to sealing windows allow that natural light but also for the destination to be that Focus so I really do want to to provide high level of uh of service but also those beautiful views and here are some of our state room categories you see those two room suets uh up in the top left uh you’re able to to Really showcase uh whether you have the ver or that picture window going into The Veranda suites with those outdoor seating where you can take in the destination our French balconies where you can slide open the door and again get that fresh air and then our swand or our standard room uh gives you that picture window some additional space actually in those rooms uh so it really is up to uh to your liking but we do find that the veranda and The Veranda State Veranda Suites are most popular throughout all of our lines now as far far as the popular itinerary and kind of an an introduction to to River cruising usually starts with the Ry the mine or the danub and so the ryin getaway really highlights the Ry River sailing from Amsterdam to Basel or vice versa you can sail in either direction the uh Riverway doesn’t really have as much because it’s controlled um by the locks and Dam so the the direction is not as critical but more if you want to stay longer uh for a pre or a post a lot of our guests like to say about 10 to 12 Days uh so the eight days on board the ship itself with an extension before after whether that be in Amsterdam basil heading over to lucern or Lake Como uh so many options but actually on the ship itself the sailings I mentioned those windmills in in Kinder Dy uh along the col to Cologne where you get to see the cathedral and the old s Old Town C Blends Inspire uh chance to go over in Heidelberg University which I mentioned sturg some beautiful music and wines in this region uh before heading down to Basil where kind of three countries unite and you have a chance to explore their riverways and canals as well so a great itinerary again introduction now if you’re also looking for some more music and still some of those flavors uh our danub Walts or our romantic danu are very very big with that uh I know those of you who love the sound of music will really like this itinerary the sounds of Mozart and Strauss and so uh you can see that and taste the flavors uh traveling from Pasa uh to Budapest or we have some that sail from ravensburg uh to Budapest again either direction uh you can sail extensions to nurburg or extra time in Budapest are very very popular some of the itineraries have two nights in Vienna so if you’re looking for extra time in Vienna that is available and really again a great introduction to European river sailing now if you’re looking at both of these options we do have the ability to add that together in a 15-day Grand European sailing from Amsterdam all the way to Budapest or vice versa Budapest to Amsterdam it’ll go through the uh the danu the M danu uh Canal so this is uh a lot of fun for any of those Engineers or engineerm minded individuals as you’ll go through a lot more of the locks a nice variety of blocks uh as you travel past nurburg and a stop there as well but again those of you who may not want to travel back and forth to Europe this is a great option uh to see both uh itineraries in one single trip of course the Christmas markets very very popular if you are looking at Christmas markets this year there are very few staterooms still available so do reach out uh to the Branco team right away uh this is uh or the Moa vacations team I um I want to make sure that you get onto the those trips right away but for 2025 there is more and more space uh if you are interested please reach out so many whether it be on Fran’s riverways the danu the Ry uh you really can see those local markets now if you’re looking at other options in Europe we do sail into Portugal on the Duro this gives you a chance to really see Portugal and as you make your way over then you do have a chance to see Spain with salaka it has a a Lisbon extension and so here’s the actual Journey that you’ll take flying into Lisbon you’ll have some time in Porto tasting some of those wonderful wines music culture the sailing is absolutely stunning along this Riverway and Terrace uh kind of Riverside Villages um guests really come back raving this was a a big big itinerary pre- pandemic and it has come back even hotter uh so we do see this is a very very popular it another very very popular itinerary is going to be through Egypt and here in Egypt we do have our own uh ships that we uh we don’t Charter ships we actually own and operate our ships uh giving us so much of uh the ability to not only design the beautiful ships uh but uh cater to Our Guest uh by having additional crew uh 82 guests and about 60 crew on board the ship additional program directors EG egyptologists uh again curated tours all throughout it is a uh Cairo land uh portion that then you’ll have a charter flight down to Luxor where you board the ship you’ll sail and then come back and the flight back up to Cairo uh a few of the extensions have been adjusted obviously uh due to some of the unrests in the area but safety is our number one priority and our guests who are traveling on those itineraries right now cannot say anything better than uh the experience they really are enjoying it now I I mentioned some of our itineraries there are more and more itineraries to offer and I could talk for hours and hours uh you see some of the new itineraries as well so we now sail year round on the Ry and the danu so if you’re looking for a much quieter time uh depending on where you live potentially warmer as well uh we do have uh yearound sailing so January February and March we do Sail on the Ry and the danu as well as a few more additional itineraries with extra time in Vienna uh as well well as into France and some combination itineraries like France’s finest so uh looking at sailing on the riverways a little closer to home here is our Viking Mississippi uh a modern river ship on the Mississippi uh sailing from New Orleans all the way to St Paul a number of variety itineraries between uh you can do a 22 day full day heading Northbound or 15-day Southbound New Orleans roundtrip that southern itinerary is very much focused on History music music culture uh some great Foods in that region as you make your way up to the Delta uh the they say the heart of the Delta starts at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis Tennessee you get a little bit more of that music and barbecue as you head up further into the heartlands through St Louis and up into uh to Iowa you get a lot more of that farm culture and then into some of the Native American culture as well as the natural beauty of the Upper Mississippi so uh that upper mississipp Mississippi really filled with Wildlife Recreation a very different River uh St Louis north than you get St Louis South so again a little bit closer to home uh this is uh very popular for guests who may not want to travel all the way over to Europe anymore so this as well as our Great Lakes itinerary is very very popular for that so as you see there are more and more options that have come out uh so uh this year we have more itineraries that we’re we’re introducing and again as I mentioned and uh the the question of where can we take you next we’re always looking at new itineraries new destinations and hope to continue to to bring those to you with more and more destinations comes our ocean line so we’ve been sailing oceans for about seven years beautiful ships on our ocean ships were able to have a few more amenities due to the size of the vessel again big focus on public spaces but like I said we have a spa and uh Fitness uh facility we also have the the theater uh so much uh additional with dining eight different dining venues for you uh so much to experience here’s that uh Spa again complimentary all part of uh your your inclusive value so please do take advantage if you go on there’s a steam room sauna uh we have the Nordic bathing Traditions so very traditional in Norway going from hot to cold so we have uh cold plunges as well as hot steam rooms available for you now with the theater and some some of the options for lectures we have so many more on board our ocean ships even a resident historian uh who has office hours and focuses on the destinations and the places that we go uh so you’ll be able to get to know them as well as go to their presentations and mentioned some of those dining options for you eight different dining options whether that be the main restaurant man Freddy’s which is our Italian cuisine msons are Norwegian Deli Winter Garden which provides afternoon tea each day uh chef’s table which is gastronomy a rotating menu five course five to seven courses with wine pairings we have our World Cafe and aqua Terrace pool Grill and of course 24-hour room service and all of these items are included no additional charge for man Freddy’s and Chef’s Table you simply need a reservation but no additional charge for any of these now our unparalleled State rooms is something we’re very very proud of uh you see things like uh in our even our restrooms heated towel racks and anti-fog mirrors heated floors all of the little amenities that make uh such an experience for you all Veranda staterooms on our ocean and Expedition so every room has the chance for you to sit outside and have some Alfresco breakfast uh again still that Scandinavian design if you’re looking at some of our suets this is our Explorer Suite that big wraparound uh Veranda the two room suites our Ocean Suites give you so much more space now here is our Penthouse junior suite with a uh kind of a closed off room a second room that you’re able to have Sitting space uh television on both sides again that full large Veranda for you to experience getting into our uh our Penthouse Verandas a lot of extra space a full couch and again those large uh restroom or um bathrooms with the the double vanities and then our standard veranda State rooms again State uh quite spacious uh all Verandas so so much to to provide in these rooms now as far as our uh our itineraries we have so many I could go through but a big Focus uh in Scandinavia and North America or northern Europe uh as well as the Mediterranean we do sell yearound in many of these destinations uh I suggest um you know Italy in the summer is is wonderful uh but the CRA CLS and the heat uh I don’t plan on going back unless it’s in the winter or in one of the shoulder Seasons you know a lot of these destinations in the shoulder Seasons into the winter really do highlight the destination still but without the crowds and so uh I do think whether it be uh through the Mediterranean or into Scandinavia so much uh that you’re able to see into the Americas we do sail from the US down into the Caribbean through the Panama Canal from the west coast up to Alaska we also sail to uh Australia New Zealand into Asia Japan China we have so many uh of those options for you uh from seven or eight days all the way up to 30 uh depending on what you’re looking for and even options to combined a river and ocean cruise together now some of my favorite itineraries the first itinerary I ever did was actually our Viking homelands uh this is an itinerary that sails from Bergen to Stockholm or uh Stockholm to Bergen again the itinerary Direction really is not critical I’d like to point out ports like eford looks like uh place you’d have to drive to but our ship is able to go all the way up the fur being uh less than a thousand passengers a very small ship we’re able to go through the fs all the way up and again uh experience the the beauty of nature Stanger and Oslo you have that Norwegian culture uh get to uh to see and experience the uh dolls of Norway and some of the fishing culture alberg and some of the flavors into Copenhagen and tiv Gardens uh vermund Germany and gangst you get to taste some of those flavors and then heading up uh to uh Sweden and ending in Stockholm or starting in Stockholm so much to see with their palaces uh and a great itinerary those of you who might have some British or United Kingdom uh Heritage I know this is a very very popular itinerary sailing from Bergen to London or vice versa circumnavigating almost all the way around United Kingdom stopping in Ireland Scotland and uh England uh so many uh interesting ports of call a lot of history again for those who have Heritage you uh get to spend time in places like Edinburgh Scotland uh this is one place I would go to in the summer whether it be the tattoo or their The Comedy Festival their uh Book Festival there’s so much going on in Edinburgh but places like Dublin for the beer and that flavors a Liverpool a little bit of beetles and music we really do highlight those destinations now if you’re looking to sale the Caribbean we do the Caribbean a little bit differently uh we do the Southern Caribbean the West Indies a lot of the British Virgin Islands the US Virgin Islands all the way down to Barbados and St Lucia so again the smaller ports of call like Dominica there’s just one cruise ship can dock there so uh the smaller ships really are able to see and experience that like the big shs aren’t so uh if you are looking at the Caribbean this is a San Juan round trip extra time in San Juan if you are interested but a great way uh to to escape maybe the cold Winters uh and and see a little bit different part of the Caribbean now I mentioned the Mediterranean we sail all around the Mediterranean but this is one of the most popular itineraries from Barcelona to Chia so Rome uh or vice versa you can sail either Direction with a little bit of time in France uh Spain as as well as Italy and you also get to see the beautiful uh country or small country of Monte Carlo Monaco uh so a little bit of the uh the racing and the wealth uh stop over at the casino uh France the flavors the tastes there as well now again I could talk over and over about so many destinations here’s a little bit of a map of everywhere that we sail uh we have 11 now ocean ships uh sailing so destinations all around the world we’ve even added around uh South uh South Africa now with the Red Sea kind of closed so we uh we have more and more destinations that we are traveling to I will mention that we’ve reintroduced some sailings along the coast of China we have some sailings that that uh combine China and Japan uh some of these are between 10 days and 20 days they have some land and uh Cruise options right now there’s even free uh international airfare for those China so if it’s something you’re interested in uh do reach out uh itineraries really going everywhere and longer and longer itineraries even world cruises or segments of a world Cruise so if you’re looking uh to travel from LA to Australia you can do that in uh stop in Easter Island or borabora Tahiti uh there’s so many uh options with our world cruises and destinations you won’t see really with anything else I mentioned those China itineraries very very popular we have opened up our 2025 China itineraries the 2024 uh have set sale and they’re very very popular uh so do want to share those with you now I mentioned the the great lakes and the our Expedition ships are those ships that will sell the Great Lakes but these were really designed with the highest uh ability to reach those uh those far off destinations and so uh our custombuilt polar class 6 vessels the Viking octantis and Viking Polaris do sail to Antarctica and this coming year we’ll sail to the Arctic as well here’s a great picture of some of our toys Zodiacs kayaks um you know Special Operations boats submarines uh this ship was designed to reach those destinations almost as large as our ocean ships but about a third of the passengers so the amount of public space uh the The Hanger where we store all of those uh those toys our science and research that takes place on board there’s so much uh that you’re able to experience and the dining uh facilities our spa State rooms which are state-of-the-art we have uh every room again is an outside facing uh with a Nordic balcony is what we call them it’s a slide down window giving you a chance to have more space in the state room as well as a full window that slides down allowing the destination to come to you so this is one of our Explorer Suites multiple rooms a shared large outdoor Garden as well well with these rooms our Nordic junior suite again a large very very spacious room with those high level of bathrooms as well like you saw on our ocean ships very very similar all the rooms also have warming closets to dry off any of your Expedition gear uh and uh really amenities to go far far above your expectations our Nordic uh Penthouse as well as our Nordic uh deluxe room uh this is our standard room and as I mentioned those bathrooms very spacious High amenities uh we have um all of our Norwegian based amenities and uh everything that we do again is very curated and intentional now that main itinerary that we showcase through Antarctica is going to be our Antarctic Explorer he’ll sail from usua but the the trip will actually start in Buenos Aris where you’ll fly into before joining a chartered flight down to usua You’ll set sail across the Drake Passage and then have about six days in Antarctica before heading back now the actual time in Antarctica does depend on each one of the itineraries the Expedition leader and Captain will look at uh the wildlife will look at the weather and give you the best possible Landing experiences so each day they’ll look at the next day they’ll see uh where there’s been Wildlife sightings uh what the opportunities will be for our guests and they’re able to to find new locations as well recently there was a new island that was discovered by one of our ships as well as things like a new penguin colony and so the research and development that our ship is able uh to do with our guests and it’s Hands-On with our guests is very very popular now if you’re looking at something a little bit closer up into the Great Lakes we do have a few different itineraries that actually sail to all five Great Lakes from Toronto all the way to Thunder Bay or duth uh going to Milwaukee and you get uh some of the music and culture of Detroit and Cleveland uh going up into the Georgian Bay and that’s where you get kind of that Northwoods uh over 10,000 uh Islands in that region so you can take out the zodiacs and kayaks and the guest really enjoy the natural beauty of that section of the Great Lakes our ships are also going to sail to the Arctic uh this coming uh this next coming summer uh sailing from Toronto as well as nuke Greenland up many guests may have sailed through the Arctic Circle but actually stopping in the Arctic and having a chance to step foot on to uh to some of the Lesser traveled areas now speaking of Lether traveled many guests may have heard of a world Cruise sailing um around the equator uh of the of the world but this is a latitudinal world cruise that we offer uh sailing from the the poles going a latitudinal vertically uh so we do have this sailing around the west coast of South America and then up the east coast of North America there are some sections of this that are broken down so if you’re interested in just a segment some of those are available as well again looking at more and more destinations as we travel now uh all of these options are are always available for you uh being part of the science and the experience of our Expedition ships is so so popular uh we’re always looking at uh New Opportunities and I will say I had the chance to sail in our great lake and uh not only are the ships absolutely stunning uh sailing through the great lakes and stopping in places like Mao Island really are uh some of those um places that you want to see and experience so that really does cover quite a bit of our ocean our Expedition and our River ships and uh really want to kind of highlight um where we can take you next and and why you should really work with uh MOA and MOA vacations is able to offer you uh some additional items uh you’re able to get that $100 uh that’ll be through July I do apologize uh that’ll be all of July but we uh we do that from time to time uh that’s the special offering also the groups with MOA and uh and really want to highlight that John had mentioned uh whether that be with friends or uh class reunion uh if you have five or more uh individuals or state rooms that you’d like to put together the the Moa team uh can put that together and make a a group uh they also have MOA vacations uh you know trips that they’ve already put together so if you’re looking at traveling with like-minded individuals uh that’ll usually be in the Moa magazine articles or just reach out to uh to the Moa team and they’re going to be able to let you know which group uh sailings are available uh there’s always uh something available and if there’s something you want to do or experience uh John and the team are able to to create that or add a new one so uh do think about that with uh friends organizations I mentioned class or company whether it’s a group who you served with or uh just somebody that you know from church or somebody back home so so many options for you again uh we have our summer sale going right now there’s that July MOA uh special going on it’s throughout the entire month uh do reach out from time to time we’ll do this H promotion $100 additional shipboard credit uh so many things can be added with added value for you um and uh and really do want to thank you for your time today uh and we look forward to to seeing you on board our ship so thank you and I think John and I will stick around for a a few questions hopefully uh I’ve answered most of them but uh we we’ve got a number of questions okay so if you don’t mind and a couple times uh I’m if I stepped away and you answered this I apologize because I was trying to answer questions live uh but we did have somebody ask about solo Travelers and single supplements yeah so um so our ships are generally very very full so uh single supplements are available on our ocean vessels for the direct Deluxe Veranda category is always available uh for our River ships it is kind of Hit or Miss depending on the itinerary but we can always look into it so if you are looking uh for a solo cabin reach out to the Moa vacations team if they’re not able to see something uh they can reach out to me um but uh generally our ships do sail with double occupancy but there is always the chance that we can look and see what’s available and as I said on Ocean Deluxe Randa always has a single supplement okay uh somebody asked about uh the shipboard credit what it could be used for because you kind of went through and said there was no nickel and diming so I kind of threw a couple of things out that that I thought of off the top of my head but I thought you might have a more elant answer on what what that shipboard credit could be used for so the the shipboard credit uh a lot of our guests end up using that uh for additional optional excursions so a more intimate uh Boutique experience whether that be going uh to a a private concert or um a factory a wine tour uh some of those can be used uh you can use that for excursions uh you can also use that uh on our ocean and Expedition for the spa or in the shops we have some small shops on our River ships but very large shops on ocean with duty-free shopping uh also our silver beverage package I I mentioned that beer and wine is included uh at lunch and dinner uh for those of you who like high level Spirits uh or highlevel wines uh again you have the opportunity for our silver beverage package which is just $25 a day um and that’s from sunup to sundown you can have as much Libations as you want um and so that $100 really could put a dent in the the silver beverage for $25 a day um a few yeah there’s I’m probably missing a few other things but um you could apply that towards gratuities uh if you do wish a lot of our guests do choose to do an auto gratuiti but yeah yeah the shipboard cedit can be be used for for those elements yeah so like the Spa is free but there’s spa treatments that have a a charge correct um and then you have gift shops on board correct uh I I I put a note in there the last I think I I’d have to think back but for sure the last three River Cruises I was on I used my on board credit at the gift shop because I didn’t uh didn’t uh do any any beverages or any special excursions or something like that but uh yeah you’ll you’ll find something to to purchase it on I think I the last one I went on I got like a bracelet for my daughter the one before that I got a necklace for the wife so you know just that kind of that kind of thing so absolutely uh while we’re talking about gratuities I’m going to go out of order on this somebody asked about gratuities for room service and so you kind of led into the gratuities so can you kind of let everybody know what the gratuities are and what that includes yeah so uh I as I said I I come from working on board our ships and I’m I’m very proud of the way that we take care of our our crew all of our crew have our our standard pay and then there’s uh an optional um gratuities that uh all of our guests pay into um you can adjust that if you do so wish but we kind of have our standard I believe it’s $17 a day per person currently um and so guests uh can choose to pay before going on board you can adjust that while on board um but then we do find a lot of our guests like to uh share additional gratuities to those who really go above and beyond and exceed their expectations whether that be their stateroom housekeeper or a bartender that knows you by name and knows your drink by the second day um the you know if you get room service you’re welcome to to tip somebody who goes above and beyond but again we do uh take very good care of our crew we have very competitive uh wages and um and so it’s really up to you it’s those guests who really go above and beyond if you want to recognize them additionally um a lot of guests uh do you know bring some fives one you can tip in in Euros or in US Dollars it’s really up to you gotcha uh somebody asked about beauty shops uh are they exclusively on your ocean ships are they on Ocean and Expedition so we have that on Ocean and on Expedition generally we find that for the longer itineraries that’s more popular uh on River ships we have local um kind of shops that we work with so we know where they are all along the river gotcha uh somebody asked um the two parts to it the first part I didn’t really understand I’ll see if he replied to my question he said are the rooms on your Iceland trip smaller um Iceland would be ocean right and you yeah we do have different yeah so our state rooms on our ocean vessels are are very spacious and then the there with Iceland in our new Arctic itinerary is going to be on the expedition ships and those State rooms are almost identical spacewise uh to Ocean you actually get a little bit more because The Veranda becomes a Nordic balcony um but uh I wouldn’t say Iceland we would have anything smaller um same with even you know the Expedition ships um going to Antarctica they’re very spacious designed with comfort in mind and the ability to go to Antarctica gotta uh accommodations for travelers with disabilities um once again that’s going to be ocean and uh Expedition or is it just ocean um so the biggest thing with with guests with Mobility concerns is the the destinations in which we’re going to the ships themselves uh have a Universal Design so we have elevators on our ships we have the ability to get around and get you know our crew will will be very accommodating um but it’s the destinations and any of the places that we go to um you know through Europe are you know UNESCO sites and they can’t make adjustments to cobblestone streets and so we do generally want our guests to be able to get out and explore um but if somebody does want to just stay on board the ship um usually our ocean ships are the most uh accessible or you know easiest to get on and off of um and uh yeah River ships can be more challenging with with gang ways and the accessibility of those ports of call you offer upgraded flight if somebody wants to fly business fight absolutely you can uh do that do that through um through Viking air or as it gets closer and it’s once it’s been ticketed you can do that uh through MOA vacations and in the airline um but it’s uh really up to the guest whether they want to do that with Viking Viking air we do have so much added with transfers uh we have additional ground staff to help you through your transportation so Viking are is very very popular right um your benefits for past passengers so we have uh past passenger bonuses based on uh your recent sailings uh so that’s uh kind of builds depending on um when you’ve recently sailed with us generally it’s between1 and $200 um for somebody that hasn’t sailed with us in a while we’ve had up to $800 uh per state room uh for recent past guests it really depends on the promotion but we do want to recognize all of our past passengers excellent uh somebody asked if you would speak to the free air program what airlines Fair class Etc please so obviously it’s going to be co- chair on the free air yeah so our our free air is um it depends on month-to-month promotions uh so a lot of times that uh will be from 100 a lot you’ll kind of see in it right now I think it’s there’s about 150 uh Main uh Gateway or Hub airports that we’ll will’ll fly from um we’re always going to to have you fly in the direction we’ll never send you the opposite direction to head back to the destination um we use um the major carriers so domestically American Delta uh United km Lanza internationally um really all of those uh those partner Airlines to those depending on the destination are going um we use the the highend uh end of Airlines uh somebody asked does Viking offer pre and postt trip hotel stays I mean I know you have pre- and post uh packages correct yes I’m not sure exactly what they’re asking but for example the one I was looking at most recently was pest out of Budapest and you know you have like a Prague three night package so I know you offer packages but if somebody just wanted like something outside of that package like if I wanted just to go in a day early do you offer that yeah so we have a number of different options um so there’s those packages but then we also have what we call our city stays um and so the city stay will just be uh the transfer to the hotel uh the time at the hotel with a representative in the in the lobby uh so they can help you with h finding tours or reservations um and then transfer to the ship as well so that’s on a majority of the itineraries if it’s not available on an itinerary working with the air Department you can uh you know do an extra day fly in early um and then we can help you to arrange some of those transfers and those types of items too gotcha right now we only have two left this one I’m gonna let you answer because I I want them to hear it directly from you but the person is basically saying that they get Viking promotions with you know sales prices you know advertised specials free air or reduced air programs and the question was was does does MOA offer these programs and of course my answer is yes absolutely but I wanted you to address the fact that there’s are there any promotional offers that Viking has that would not be available to MOA vacations yeah so uh my answer is if you don’t book through moo vacations you’re leaving money on the table all of the promotions are information that you get from Viking uh MOA is able to to utilize but then as additionally add value uh through like the $100 shipboard credit we’re able to give this month um any of the promotions you receive in the mail or whether be emailed uh there’s going to be a promotional code usually a couple letters and numbers you would simply give that to uh the Moa advisor usually they already have those um but if it is something that you just received that day um they’re able to apply it and then add the added value of uh the Moa vacations um kind of promotion so um EX how I would have answered that question leaving money on the table but but uh but I wanted it to come from Viking right that’s one of the things because you know I’m I’m I’m I’m sure that it may perhaps it’s more believable coming you all right so the last one and and I’m going to answer this one but I I didn’t know if you want to comment it somebody said that gratuity is not really optional there’s a mandatory minimum and I think all of the cruise lines have kind of gone to this uh kind of formula now where they have a set gratuiti that is added that you can change change either lower or higher if you want so the reason they say it’s optional if they say they’re going to do $17 a day and I’m going to make my life simple and say you’re traveling as a single for 10 days so the gratuiti is 170 you can go to the front desk and change that to 150 you can change it to 200 so that’s why they say it is optional um but Viking is not unique in the fact that they basically you either pay the the preset amount uh in advance or that is automatically added to your account but you can change it if you would like to uh anything you want to add to that no that’s uh spoton it’s uh I’ve seen guests who who do make the adjustment who add additional or they simply as I said you know provide cash tips to individuals or they lower it down a little bit because they want to give more cash tips so yeah it’s a it’s up to each individual and prepaid you you can do that and you don’t have to worry about it once you get on board or as you mentioned uh you can wait and pay it on board and you can adjust it as you wish Perfect all right uh we had a lot of people we had a lot of questions I love it uh Brett great job as always uh before we sign off I just want to remind everyone that we are uh we did record this we will upload it to our YouTube channel tomorrow you will get an email uh that will be a link to this video uh it may not be first thing tomorrow morning since we’re actually going to have our it team go in and change that video out I have no idea how long something like that takes um but tomorrow at some juncture you will get a copy of this presentation once again um everything we talked about today is available to not only MOA members but MOA members friends and guests uh if you would have more fun on your vacation be it ocean Expedition or river if your brother went or if your neighbor went or if a fellow MOA member went or whatever ever it is absolutely invite them to come along they will get the exact same pricing the exact same free amenities that you receive um so we’d have love to have them join us so um on behalf of myself everyone at MOA vacations and everyone who signed up today Brett I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule uh to spend a little over an hour with us and I’m going to turn it over to you for the final word well thank you so much John and as mentioned yeah MOA vacations really is that high level of service and I think everybody that travels with with John and his team really get that great service and and it’s extended into a viking voyage and we hope to see you uh exploring the world in comfort and uh we’ll see you again in the near future take care thanks everyone have a great day