Jchivers

True. Everybody says they have "hash browns" at breakfast, and they don't taste bad. They're just not real hash browns.

Hash browns (or, hashed browned potatoes): shredded potatoes, seasoned, formed into a patty and smashed onto a greasy hot griddle, then cooked until one side is crispy and golden. Served crispy side up, and delicious (with ketchup, but YMMV). Available at every diner and coffee shop in America. I've been on 5 cruise lines: Princess, HA, Celebrity, Viking and Disney; and they all claim to serve hash browns but in actuality it's something like a deep-fried mashed potato disc. They have potatoes and a griddle (since they can make pancakes); why don't they make a proper hash brown?

Yeah, that roll of Rolaids that launched this discussion probably would have put me over the 50 lb weight limit. 🙂

Whoa, that was a bit harsh, dontcha think? My travel kit is packed with first aid items and a few miscellaneous personal care stuff. This has always been sufficient in my pre-covid international travel because I could always pick up anything else I need in the sundry shop. But the rules changed with covid, and i didn't get the memo. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. [raises fist] As God is my witness, I'll never be without Rolaids again.

If I had known in advance: certainly, I'd have cleaned out my medicine cabinet. But i didn't know. I assumed that a luxury cruise ship's sundry shop was at least as well stocked as a Holiday Inn. My mistake. 😉

The conundrum is that a cruise can't say so on their web site. They can't say "we don't stock any medications so bring your own" because they don't *want* you to bring your own -- that would defeat the purpose of the policy.

My last 2 cruises have been on Viking (ocean), post-covid (2021 and 2022). All my previous cruising activity was pre-covid on other cruise lines. I bring this up because I'm not sure if this is a Viking thing, or a Covid thing.... Viking's onboard sundry shop doesn't carry any over-the-counter medications: no pain relievers, no cold remedies, no tummy soothers, no seasick medication. Nothing. I know that the ship's medical center will sell you a bottle of cough syrup. I suspect that the reason for this is virus-related: they want the ship's medical personnel to see anyone who has a headache, runny nose, or upset stomach. But this means that if you have a simple case of heartburn, you either wait until the medical center opens (2 hours/day), or you get into port, or you had the foresight to bring your own Rolaids from home. (When I posted this situation on a Viking-related Facebook group the near unanimous response was: I'm unreasonable to think the ship would carry this stuff and I should have thought to bring my own from home.) What are other cruise lines doing? Is this now an industry-wide thing?

I can't speak to what's happening lately (I'll find out next when we embark), but last year on our Welcome Back cruise from Malta - Croatia, it felt like it was fully staffed despite there only being 90 passengers. The captain referred to the ship as "our private yacht". Needless to say, service was pretty darn attentive. So if the ships are under-staffed now I'd be surprised.

Our only previous Viking cruise was a "Welcome Back" last July, out of Malta. Due to our own damn fault we missed our connection in Frankfurt, and the next flight to Valletta was not for another 8 hours. Fortunately, the ship was not scheduled to sail until the next day. We were unable to reach Viking at any of their 800-numbers (boo!) as it wasn't business hours in the US...but fortunately #2 we had friends on the cruise, who were already on board. So we texted the friends and asked them if they could *please* let somebody know that we would be arriving around midnight, and please don't pull up the gangway!! We arrived in Valletta and worked our way through customs and baggage claim (our luggage had been going around and around on the carousel for 8 hours), anxious about how we would tell a Maltese cab driver where we wanted to go: when a miracle occurred. A limo driver was waiting for us (holding up a sign with my last name on it) who whisked us off to the port. There on the pier was a ship's officer (finance manager, I believe) and an assistant who greeted us warmly and checked us in. In our room there was cake and champagne waiting for us. Kudos, Viking!

For something as vital as proof of vaccination, the CDC paper card system is remarkably haphazard ... but that's a rant for another day. There's no systematic way of getting a new copy. Fortunately, the pharmacy where I got my last booster agreed to transcribe my digital vaccine record onto a new card. So: happy ending. But don't lose your card. Summary of the trip requirements: testing is recommended but not required in any country (including re-entry to the US.) Proof of vaccination is required everywhere, in various forms.

VeriFLY is required "for all cruise ship passengers in the United States". That wording is ambiguous....does that mean cruises that start/end in the US? (Which would not apply to Trade Routes of the Middle Age) or does it mean all American passengers?

We're on Trade Routes of the Middle Ages (Bergen - Barcelona) in September; and my reading of the vaccination requirements in MVJ are: Viking requires all passengers to be fully vaccinated; France, Netherlands and Spain require that we have received a booster if our initial vaccination is more than 270 days old, and to fill out a declaration form. Do we need to also show our CDC paper vaccination cards? Or is everything based on the declaration forms and our promise (under penalty of perjury) that we're telling the truth? Does the US require testing for us to fly home? (I can't find my CDC card at the moment. I have a picture of it on my phone ... and a digital vaccination record on my phone from the state of California. I'm hoping the card shows up but I'm freaking out a bit.)

Well, that turned out as well as could possibly be expected: easy peasy, no drama. AC put us back on the original flight out of SFO, and then Amsterdam - BGO instead of Copenhagen - BGO. All done. One wonders why they didn't just do this in the first place...but I'm not complaining. Thanks, all, for your guidance and support!

This isn't specifically a Viking issue, but I thought somebody here would be able to guide me as to how to rectify this. I'm on Trade Routes of the Middle Ages, Bergen to Barcelona. It begins with an overnight in Bergen; we were planning to board on September 27, and the ship sails at 6:00 PM on September 28. I booked my own flight arrangements with Air Canada. I just got an email from AirCanada saying that regretfully they've had to make a change to my flight. They've done this before, and I expected to see just a change by an hour or so on one leg. But no: they moved the entire trip by 24 hours. All the same flights, but instead of leaving SFO on Sept 26 and arriving in Bergen on Sept 27, it's now Sept 27 - 28. Instead of 26 hours in Bergen, we'll have 2 hours. First: CAN THEY DO THAT???? Second: If I call Air Canada and yell at them can they move me back? Third: Is there any point in calling Viking? Can they do anything?

For my upcoming cruise (Trade Routes of the Middle Ages) I booked my own flights; gave the information to Viking, and requested airport transfers. So far so good. I just got word from Air Canada that they've cancelled my flight landing in Bergen and put me on a different one 2 hours later; so I need to tell Viking to modify their transfer info for me. Should be simple, right? I called the 800 number and was immediately transferred to Viking Air. (This was probably my first sign that something was wrong). The agent I got kept asking me questions concerning what city I was flying from, and my seat preferences, and putting me on hold, and coming back and talking about "booking". She was trying to book a flight! I kept saying all I needed was to update my transfer ... kept going on hold, and coming back talking about bookings. I finally used words I've never used before: "Let me talk to your supervisor." Another hold. When I got off hold, it was with the same agent. We eventually got it done. I think. I may have wound up with another air ticket...we'll see. Where did I go wrong? I suspect that I should never have been routed to Viking Air