Heidi13

I read the entire policy document, so I understand the coverage and most importantly the limitations, so do not require assistance from a specific broker. The insurance company we deal with has numerous agents, who all have different specialties. It has worked for us for over 40 years, including one trip when we had a reasonable claim. Therefore, for us it is a great idea.

We use our local insurance broker, who we use for all our insurance needs - car, house, rv, etc.

The biggest difference with marine crewing, is there is nobody to call, it takes many days to arrange and receive a relief. I can assure you, my previous post is not alarmist, it is based on facts resulting from my extensive risk analysis and human factors training, then developing Bridge procedures and manning. It is well known about 80% of accidents/incidents are caused by human error, so one of the first levels of defense is having at least 2 officers on the Bridge, to eliminate single person errors. They don't carry spare officers, so when one is sick, you re-task one of the few non-watchkeepers, or increase the workload of the other watchkeepers. Leaving a single officer on the Bridge or E/R is a not an option due to the high probability of single person error. Another factor to consider is the non-watchkeepers also have other tasks and responsibilities. SOLAS also mandates maximum hours of work and minimum rest periods. It is also widely accepted that increased hours of work results in fatigue, which increases the potential for accidents/incidents. BTW - pax are not normally aware of any issues with respect to the crewing of the Bridge or Engine Room, so I'm not surprised you haven't seen any reports from pax. Most of the hotel crew don't even know about any issues on the Bridge or E/R.

Many TA's recommend Manulife, but their questions are extensive and they declined to insure DW. Blue Cross did not have sufficient pre-existing coverage. Next, we checked BCAA and TuGo, who both provided an offer of coverage.

Well, I also don't speak from a lack of knowledge, education or experience, but mine is actually in the marine industry, having spent almost 40 years on passenger ships, with most of those years in command. In the marine industry we have a saying that is relevant to many industries - "Every company pays for health and safety, at one time or another." You pay reasonable amounts for safety now, or you open the bank vault later." Since my last company actually lost a ship, I have a little experience in this area, having developed a complete best in class safety management system. In the marine industry, few if any, companies offering best in class health and safety systems have gone bankrupt. With the increase in virus load, the Bridge Team will be isolated from all pax and most of the hotel crew. This is standard practice on passenger ships when they have a virus spreading. They don't have spare officers and any shortage of watchkeepers results in an increased risk due to human factors issues. When I worked on the ships, this was fairly rare, but with COVID, the ships will have significantly increased "Red" status, requiring isolation of the Bridge & Engineering teams. Therefore, those that pushed for the cessation of testing and the consequential increase in virus aboard, you have ensured the officers responsible for your safety aboard the ship are forced into an existence that includes their cabin and the Bridge or E/R.

The ship's manifest is forwarded up to about 4 days before arrival, or upon departure from the previous port, so the cruise line has no information if pax could be denied ashore in Canada, when they board. It is the pax responsibility to ensure they can legally enter each country. On arrival Victoria, prior to clearing the ship, Border Services may request the ship to restrict shore leave to named pax, prior to face-to-face interviews. Clearly, Border Services may miss one or more ineligible pax on a cruise, but if an ineligible pax books another cruise they may not be so lucky.

Most definitely not, as your posts have all been very well reasoned, expressing the difficulties you experienced with providing the samples. From reading your posts, you accepted the requirement for testing, just found it difficult. With respect to the concern over quarantine, in my experience, this is normal, as the potential exists on every cruise and always has. In 2008, we experienced a massive Noro outbreak with over 50% reporting to the medical centre, so the actual numbers were much higher. The local authorities initially quarantined the entire ship, which even included those that were not infected, or had recovered. Therefore, the risk of quarantine is just as much of a potential with or without testing. In fact, for those not infected, I'll suggest the quarantine risk is less with daily testing.

Thanks Rob - Wasn't aware that they have a test for Noro, which along with COVID would be a huge positive for enhancing health for both crew and pax on cruise ships. Since the other cruise lines didn't implement COVID testing, it is little wonder they haven't implemented Noro testing. When you experienced the large Noro outbreak, was the entire ship also quarantined by the local authorities?

So true. When the US implemented the current requirements, it convinced me to also get a Canadian passport. If I enter the US on my UK passport, I require fingerprints, photograph and e-visa, which costs money.

So true. Having spent a couple of months on a Viking ship during the onset of COVID, I can attest that Viking did take the health & safety of pax seriously. This was reinforced with their policy developed and promulgated in December 2020, when they were the only cruise line to implement daily testing and other safety measures. These were based on science and provided a quantifiable standard of virus load aboard each ship. No other cruise line provided the same level of information and consequently health & safety. Unfortunately, with the combination of the complaints about masking and daily testing, the vocal minority and using the recent US CDC decision, Viking opted to rescind their best-in-class health and safety procedures. Unfortunately, COVID hasn't gone away and having spent over 35 years at sea on passenger ships, I am not surprised when reading the reports of the coughing on recent cruises. Yes, what we used to call "Cruz Crud", is probably now COVID. Yes, the latest COVID variants may not kill as many people as the initial variants, but it still is dangerous for many older people, regardless of vaccine status. From experience, most Viking pax are 60+, which is the start of the higher risk categories. Noro is another infectious disease prevalent on cruise ships, but they have no way of conducting daily testing, so you must wait for symptoms to develop. Having experienced a cruise with well over 50% of the pax infected, the implications of the local authorities are completely unpredictable. I, for one, cannot comprehend why, with reliable non-invasive testing available, that anyone would complain about preventing the spread of an infectious disease, to not only their fellow passengers, but also the hard-working crew, who strive to meet their every need. Having worked on ships, I can assure you there is nothing worse than being sick and confined to quarters. BTW - the crew don't have nice balcony cabins, they are stuck in a tiny inside cabin. I also posted previously that in my experience, many pax, who have a contagious disease do not report to the medical centre for treatment and the resultant quarantine, instead relying on over-the-counter medications to mask symptoms, so they can continue enjoying their expensive holiday. Based on reports, this is clearly the case. Well, we have just cancelled 2 cruises comprising 165-days and while the primary reason was a medical issue, I can assure you that having spent 4 or 5 months on ships for many years, the lack of testing was definitely a concern before we cancelled. At least when I worked on the ships, when in "Red" zone we had minimal to no contact with pax.

Sorry, but this doesn't apply to our TA, who works for a national agency, from a brick & mortar store. She is paid a salary and any OBC we receive comes from the company's advertising budget, not out of her pocket.

Longest is Vancouver to Sydney, via Edinburgh, Cape Town, Koh Samui and Saigon. Next are Vancouver to Laem Chabang (Thailand) via Hong.Kong. London to Tokyo London to Sydney

The film shows the latest Marine Evacuation System from Viking Lifesaving Equipment (LSE), which is a separate company from Viking Ocean. Viking LSE is based in Esbjerg, Denmark. Viking Ocean also uses liferafts from Viking LSE, but they are the smaller 25 or 35 man davit launched rafts. With davit launched rafts, the raft is hooked to a davit and swung over the ship's side. It is inflated and secured alongside. The raft is then loaded by stepping off the ship and into the raft. Once full, it is swung out and lowered to the water. The system shown has a vertical tube with baffles that you jump into the top, descending in a controlled manner into the 150-man liferafts. While SOLAS doesn't differentiate who uses what equipment; generally, pax will use the lifeboats and the remaining crew the liferafts. SOLAS requires at least 37.5% lifeboat capacity on each side for the total compliment, with liferafts increasing that to 125% of the total compliment. The smaller 25/35 man rafts are also extremely uncomfortable even in smooth water. I completed my first survival course in a swimming pool. We had the deep end, and the shallow end was open to the public. Once we were all in the raft, just with kids playing and splashing, the movement was really uncomfortable.

The prawns & crab were OK, basically about the same as we get at home, as even in Metro Vancouver it is really difficult to find really fresh fish. Most is frozen. During salmon season we can get some really fresh salmon from the local fishmonger, who has their own boats for fishing the Fraser River.

Splendid idea , Ol" Chap, make that 2 Bloody Marys please barman. For us, we are just glad to escape the rain of the Pacific North Wet.

Surely you purchased trip interruption/cancellation insurance to mitigate the financial risk of unforeseen circumstance such as you experienced. COVID is now treated similar to any of the other medical conditions that may curtail a cruise.

Having lived within a few miles of the ocean my entire life, if seafood smells/tastes fishy, no way we will eat it, as it isn't fresh. When I lived in UK, the Fishmonger delivered fresh fish weekly to our house that was landed on the previous high tide. Never more than 12 hours from being landed, and the local boats only ever went out on one tide and came back in on the next.

Wasn't so bad, but I wouldn't have used it late at night. You have stairs or a lift at each end. I walked through, then took the short walk to the first DLR station in Millwall.

I agree with Jim, I'm not prepared to discuss investment strategies in a public forum. I will say you are never too young to start, as I started investing at 16.

Other points of interest are the Maritime Museum, Queen's House and the Greenwich Market which opened in the 1700's..

Here is a link to the list https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/20190826-Prohibited-Item-List.pdf

Most power strips are not acceptable, as many of them include a surge protector. Surge Protectors are incompatible with marine wiring and can overheat, resulting in a fire.

Viking, as do most cruise line ban the bringing onboard of extension cords and surge protectors. Many power strips have an integral surge protector. Surge protectors are a fire hazard aboard ships, as they are incompatible with the ship's wiring. It is therefore critical, if bringing a power bar aboard that you confirm that it does not include a surge protector.

Favourite embarkation ports are Sydney, Stockholm & Greenwich (London). Amazing sailaways from all 3 ports.

The ratings are only attainable when the mask creates an effective seal around the edges. This is the reason my crews had to be clean shaven and had to pass an annual fit test.