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?