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Thank you very much for the friendly advice. Much appreciated!

The recovery letter is dependent on the date you first test positive for COVID-19. The doctor requires a positive test to write the letter. I suppose I could have used a subsequent positive test to "fudge" the date but that would have been shady in my opinion.

Yes, my wife was given the option to quarantine with me. At that point I thought that I could have COVID and did not want to infect her. Also, she would have been confined until we got off the ship and would have had to pack up while on crutches. After 5 days she was able to get around with a cane. Your wife fell off-ship. Mine fell on the ship in an area where there should have been a barrier. Later in the cruise, they put a table in front of the stairs so it would not happen again.

I have copies of the tests. It is completely true.

By the way, being quarantined on a ship is not considered trip interruption!

Yes, useless to us. Our travel plans are fully scheduled through the first half of 2024 and we are not really interested in sailing Viking again at this time.

I tested positive on April 18th on Viking Orion. My wife was also injured in an avoidable accident on the cruise. Here is a summary of what happened On Day 2 of the cruise, we went to the Explorer's Dome for the Whales and Dolphin's show that we had booked for 3 PM. When we go there a few minutes early, people outside said the show had started about 20 minutes before 3 PM. The group that arrived were surprised. We all went in to get seats. While in the dark theater, my wife Petra fell down the three steps in the rear. There was nothing blocking the steps. After the show, Petra realized she was pretty badly injured. The guy running the show took her to medical. He admitted he had messed up by starting the show way too early. Although X-rays were negative, she was in a lot of pain. She could only walk with crutches for a few days. After that she could use a cane and still has trouble walking. She saw her doctor and may get an MRI this week. While in medical, the doctor told me he was looking for me! Apparently my April 18 COVID test was inconclusive. They test in groups of 4 and one of the samples was positive. They sent me back to my cabin while they tested all four samples individually. I told the doctor I had a recovery letter and emailed him a copy. He told me it was no longer valid as they are only good for 90 days and it was day 91 from my prior infection. A while later the doctor called and said I was the positive test. I had to move to an isolation cabin for the duration of the cruise. My injured, immobile wife had to quarantine in our original cabin for 5 days assuming she continued to test negative. She always tested negative and was released on day 6. Needless to say, we were in shock. I felt fine and had zero symptoms the entire cruise. I kept asking the nurse (who checked me daily) how my subsequent tests were going. She said nothing had changed. On the last day of the cruise, the nurse brought me a "recovery letter" from the doctor along with my positive test report from April 18 and my final test from April 24th. I was shocked that my final test was negative. It is very common to test positive on a PCR for weeks or months after being infected. I asked the nurse to bring me all of my tests. After some pushback, they brought them. I was further shocked to see that after April 18 there were no positive test results! I find this incredible. All the facts point to a false positive. In any case, we made it home fine after the cruise. I took a nasal swab PCR test the next day and that was also negative. When I actually had COVID in January (mild case) I tested positive on a PCR test for at least 5 weeks! No way I would be negative after one day. On board I had spoken to the guest services manager about requesting a refund. She asked through internal channels but was told I should make a formal request to customer relations when I got home. I put together a detailed letter explaining everything and included supporting documentation, including all the negative test reports. Just today Customer Relations contacted me and said my request for a refund was denied. They offered a partial Future Cruise Credit which we have no interest in. I asked that this be appealed to management. They agreed to do that. On my own I forwarded my original email to the director of customer relations, the VP of customer contact and the CEO. I have also contacted a Maritime Attorney to see if I have a case. We are one and done with Viking.

I have Allianz travel insurance through my credit card. It is valid for up to $10,000 per person for travel interruption. I may file a claim with them but I think in this case it is Viking that is culpable. I currently have another claim with them and don't want to file a second claim while the first claim is in progress. There was also an avoidable accident on board where my wife was injured before we were put into isolation. She is still having trouble walking. It truly was the cruise from hell!.

A caution about recovery letters - Viking will only accept them for 90 days from the date of infection. I tested positive on Viking Orion on the 91st day. I was put into isolation. I never had symptoms and none of my subsequent tests were positive. They did not release me from isolation until the cruise was over. They would not even consider that it could have been a false positive. So far they have denied my request for a refund. I have appealed the decision and am considering my legal options.