CDNPolar

It is the US based Delta FlyReady that is asking for all of this. We are not really "being asked". There is a link on the Delta account page where you can click the FlyReady button and it asks for all of this. It did not seem mandatory, it was just there and I continued down the rabbit hole. We know through searching all government web sites that we do NOT have to prove vaccination or any of that now, BUT, we are flying on December 26th and with all of the chaos at airports from weather we want to sail direct to bag drop and not have to be stopped anywhere for a check of anything. This is why we decided to comply and provide everything they ask for. We have no concerns about rights or disclosure... we got over that 3 years ago because we wanted to travel, so we uploaded and complied with every ask... our vaccination status is as public as you can get! Delta FlyReady finally accepted my husbands upload and we have now got everything uploaded! Not sure why it did not before but it has finally now.

I have researched in depth travel medical and cancel interruption insurance for Canadians, and never come across Goose before. That in no way means that Goose is not a reputable company, however, we have a good friend that is an insurance broker who insists that it is about payment of claims. Her intelligence is that Manulife have the best claim payment time in Canada. We asked her about Goose and she has never heard of them. Insurance is expensive and you want it to pay out and pay out quickly if you need it. My feeling is that if the big guys like Manulife, RBC, TD, etc don't offer the coverage at a reasonable price, then you should ask a lot of questions. Goose's policy language is very specific about pre-existing conditions - which is good - but you have to understand every letter, word, and line of that language before paying for it. This language is difficult to understand purposely and worded - in my opinion - to make you misunderstand. Be cautious if you have a pre existing condition.

No, I don't think that you will get a heated discussion going, but there have been many conversations about this topic. I personally don't mind music anywhere anytime and I am quite able to block it out if it does not meet my mood or needs.

You will also hear frogs croaking... which I always thought were pigs, but apparently they are frogs!

The piped "music" we love is the bird calls and other animal / nature noises in the public bathrooms. Now, the above member states that Viking does NOT have piped music? I beg to differ that some areas do in fact? There have been many discussions on CC about this and it is quite a contentious issue. Have Viking stopped the piped music? I do believe that all the chairs areas on deck 7 around the pool and the WinterGarden have piped music. I do believe also that piped music is in the elevators? I may be wrong with this...

Is anyone trying to book using the Viking Voyager App? We have gone to the dining room and not been successful in getting a time, but then gone to the App and booked a time. Also this past June - could be different now - the Chef's Table was never more than half full and we were at Chef's Table 5 or 6 times in the 12 day cruise. We did eat either 6:30pm or 7:00pm, but even when we were leaving, there were many empty tables. ?? We wondered if they were limiting capacity because of staffing issues in the kitchen? I see these threads with many experiencing challenges booking but it has - to this point - never been our experience. Manfredi's is a bit different as it is clearly more popular, but we are in the minority that prefer Chef's Table to Manfredi's anyway. Frankly we prefer The Restaurant to Manfredi's.

We were refunded to our credit cards anything like shore excursions and the cruise fare was held in voucher. The voucher was the value of the cruise, air, and silver spirits. Anything else refunded.

Tables for two and tables for four as we were travelling with another couple but did not always eat together. We have never on Viking been presented with a shared table.

The last two cruises - December 2021 and June of 2022

This has been discussed many times before. We book the lowest level cabin for many reasons other than price, but also realize that we get NO pre-booking of the specialty restaurants. We board the ship, immediately connect to the ship wifi and then open the Viking Voyager app. We are able to get reservations when and where we want them without any issue. We love the Chef's Table, and we book every 3-4 days when the menu changes and get the time and table size we want every time. Last cruise we ate all 5 menus of the Chef's Table. Manfreidi's can be more difficult - it is clearly more popular than Chef's Table, but we have never had an issue getting reservations. Our first couple of cruises, we booked higher cabin levels with pre-booking options and went through all the frustration that you have been experiencing.

Re your AFIB, this is fine, but 180 days stable will also mean that if your medication is adjusted in that 180 days before going, you would not be considered "stable" and if AFIB was the reason for your medical emergency you may not be covered. Stability in most policies include adjustment to medication - up, down, or stoppage of a med. I am just suggesting that because you are approved with a pre-existing condition that you are 100% covered. Always remember insurance policies are written to not pay out after they confuse the heck out of you with their language.

Looking at the Goose policy language now. Be very careful as the pre-existing condition language of this policy is very specific, and if you are not 100% stable for the 6 months prior to travel, you will be in danger of losing coverage. Also, if you have a test or procedure that you are on a wait list for before you travel and the medical emergency is related to that pending test or procedure, you may not be covered. Very specific and very confusing. I will say that this policy language is clear and complete - much more so than other insurers. Many other insurers are vague which makes it more confusing.

With all due respect, I was not suggesting that if you are in ICU that an insurance company is going to ship you home - that does not make sense. I am talking about a personal experience of a friend of mine that fell on Christmas Eve, broke her shoulder and arm in several places. She stayed two nights in a Florida hospital, was bound tightly and shipped home on an Air Canada flight in coach to have the surgeries in Canada. She was on a stretcher in the hallway for days. She had a choice to stay in the US, but the insurance would not cover her costs. She was not life threateningly critical, but I will tell you the trip home was extremely painful and uncomfortable for her. My only point was that it is not your choice to stay or go - it is that of the insurance company. Yes, there will be acceptance and all of that in the background.

I believe that it is the insurance company that makes the decision to move you back to Canada and they do it because it is cheaper to do so than pay for your care in a foreign country. You may be on a stretcher in a hallway, but you will come home to Canada. Don't think this is your choice in the end.

My husband and I have done 6 Viking cruises to this point and on both River and Ocean. Most have been ocean. We have never had any issue on a Viking Cruise with the crew or guests. We are not a publicly demonstrative couple anyway, but it is obvious that we are a couple. The Viking crew have always been most welcoming and genuine with us. I will say that there are sometimes some sideways glances from some guests who probably don't invite gay friends to their home for dinner, but never anything overt. We have most often observed other gay couples on the cruises that we have been on too. My husband and I are a "few" years apart in age. The only time that there was anything that might be considered off was my husband heard a comment from an older gentleman after I went from the large spa pool to the snow grotto - "That's the sugar daddy." Well, the joke was on him, because I still work and I earn well, but my husband beats me in the salary department so in fact he is the sugar daddy... Here is a link to a post I made in the LGBT forum some time ago. Not a lot of information but there are some comments that you might find useful. A couple of Viking Ocean cruises that I have been on have had a meet-and-greet in the Explorer Lounge for the LGBT guests, but we have never attended so I don't know if they draw anyone out or not. No offence to anyone, but we don't feel the need to find and associate (with intent) with other gay couples on the ship. We prefer to meet others organically as we move about the ship. We tend to be creatures of habit, so that means that we always (or almost always) eat breakfast on the port side of the World Cafe. Many others are the same so you do start to get to know faces and meet people. On our first Viking Cruise we met a couple that will be life-long friends and, on one of our last cruises, similar situation with a single cruiser. The last one we started talking with this woman on an excursion. NOTE: I think that if you wanted to have a meet-and-greet, that you would just have to ask the Cruise Director and they would add it to the agenda... not sure how this happens because some ships have had it and some have not... In general, we highly recommend Viking as long as you are not looking for crazy nightlife and equally over the top entertainment. The Viking evening shows are really enjoyable, but the ship is quiet after the show is over - about 9:45pm. The age demographic is higher on Viking but we have seen a wider age range in the last few cruises. A key point for us however is that there are no children under 18 on the ship. This is a selling point for us. Hope you enjoy and please report back if you do sail with Viking.

We had a situation from an initial covid cancel where we had 2 future cruises booked with deposits. On the cancel of the cruise, we did not realize that the vouchers would be applied automatically, but they were. We did not find this out however until we had to pay for Cruise #1, and what we found was Viking applied the vouchers to Cruise #2 - not the next cruise, but the one further out. At first Viking did NOT want to move the vouchers, but we argued with them to the point where we finally got a person that understood our concerns... 1st concern being that they applied to the cruise that was furthest out which did not make sense. This was a full payment on a cruise and Viking are now telling me that I have to fully pay for the next cruise and they are going to hold my money now for an additional year? No. Not happening. 2nd concern is that the letter / voucher did not say that they were going to automatically apply the voucher, it indicated that we could use it on any upcoming cruise. It was a frustrating time, but we finally got what we wanted. They moved the voucher. Sometimes it depends on who you speak to when you call in. On a recent cruise because of a major itinerary change we were given a 10% of value voucher. We immediately called and indicated that we did NOT want that voucher applied because the rules say that once used it cannot be moved. These vouchers are apparently sitting on our account and have NOT been applied. In the future, if there is ever a cancellation with Viking that I have the option of a voucher or cash back, I will always take the cash back, regardless of the uplift in the voucher value. Too many hassles in using vouchers. This is one area for me that Viking really fails in flexibility and customer service.

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Thank you for this. My DL is expired and I have just updated the information. Let's hope that this is the missing link to my renewal!

To me as one that grew up with Christmas Crackers, I get the desire to have these, but I also think that depending on your tradition, the WOW part for us was all pulling at the same time and the POPs that happened together. Why not do this... get small decorated bags and to each one put a small hat and then "prizes" or treats inside. Make everyone different. Kind of like kids party grab bags. Put one of these at each table place setting and still have the tradition, but slightly altered for travel. Who knows, you might start a whole new tradition. As much as this is a tradition for me, I always feel that the small bit of joy in the minute for the cheap prize and hat does not justify the cost of good crackers today. All that waste gets scooped up - prizes, hats and all - and into the garbage.

I would like to know what the actual name of this package is through Manulife. To my knowledge there is NO package available to those over 60 without a questionnaire. Would you provide a link to the online package?

I would have gone for annual coverage, but if you have pre-existing conditions, then it may or may not be available.

I fortunately am a few years from retirement and still have corporate/company travel insurance that covers me regardless of pre-existing conditions. HOWEVER, a year ago, I was faced with potentially leaving my company and started to shop around for medical insurance as we are regular travellers. At the time I started to shop around I was four months from a "heart scare" and on medications. Today thankfully, I am 99%. Because I was under 6 months "stable" and over 60, every online insurance quote that I approached first presented me with a medical questionnaire and then when I did that I would receive an on screen message saying that I need to contact the underwriters directly. I started to get discouraged if I would find medical insurance, and if I could if I could afford it. I get that you feel your husband is stable over two years, but the underwriters job is to look at the potential risk factors based on the sum total of medical conditions you have - diabetes, pace maker, medications, etc. - and what is the risk to the insurance company when you travel. Long story short. I had a lot of experience with Medipac as my Mother was a snowbird and used Medipac for over 17 years. I thought that this would be the company that would insure me. NO - they refused me insurance. I thought that this company insures so many Canadians going to Florida and Arizona, that they would be the one. NO. I had to fill out a massively long questionnaire and mail it in. The day came when the reply was in the mailbox and I felt like it was my admission letter to my preferred university! Oh, how I was disappointed and discouraged with their decline. The two companies that I landed on that WOULD insure me were: Manulife CAA You will have to go through a lengthy telephone question session with an underwriter, but they will eventually get to the premium and hopefully agree to insure you. My personal choice at this stage would be CAA, but I have not purchased insurance through them as yet. Be very careful about the "stable period" as this includes new medication start, dosage adjustment up or down of existing medication, stopping a medication, etc. You also have to be aware of a medical test that has been ordered or suggested on your medical file that has not taken place before you travel. This one is key too. This can be used to deny coverage. Basically, if you are not stable under all categories then you can still get insurance, but it will not cover you if there is an incident that relates to that condition. You are covered if you break your leg, or something else happens, but if it has to do with the stable period of the heart or diabetes, you may be out of luck. All this language in the policy is very confusing and can be different with each insurance company. You must be very careful answering their questions. You may not think it important to say that in the last 3 months the dosage or type of insulin has changed but it can be key. When it comes to health, policies are written to mislead you to think that you have coverage, but you may not.

Oh, oh... that was a typo missing the 2. We fly December 26th 2022. Haha...

We fly on December 6th. We are yet to see, but all indicators on US government sites accept Astra and mixed vaccines, so this is a glitch with the Delta site. Delta are still asking for upload of all these documents and proof, but in essence, it is not required for me to fly into the USA.

Somewhere on the thread you mentioned that your sailing did have positive covid cases? In another discussion here one member stated that last year Hurtigruten cancelled their Antarctica cruise because the previous cruise had 10 positive cases on board. In the end, did you know how many cases your sailing havd and how does Hurtigruten deal with Covid? Thanks!