SRHall64

On 4/15/2022 at 6:40 PM, Middleager said:

We didn't try the Asian restaurant Chin Chin as it was only open at night.  In previous cruises were also open for lunches (same menu), we found the food too salty.  Don't know what it is now.

We ate at Chin Chin twice.  Really enjoyed the potstickers and spring rolls.  The main courses were hit and miss for us. I enjoyed mine the first night but dad didn't like his too much and the opposite happened on the second.  We enjoyed our deserts there as well.  We didn't notice anything that we had being too salty.

We did NCL shore excursions in each port.  We were a little disappointed with the one in El Salvador but the rest were pretty much what we expected. However, only once, after showing up at the specified meet time, did we proceed with our tour within 15 minutes.  The clearances from the local authorities took a while in most ports.  I was somewhat surprised that on the early port call days the restaurants didn't seem to open any earlier for breakfast.  We had to have breakfast at O'Sheehan's a few times because nowhere else was open early enough to eat and still make our meet time.  The staff at O'Sheehan's didn't seem prepared for the rush the first time it happened but did well later in the cruise.

12 hours ago, mamarose44 said:

Also the huge issue with every one we talked to on the ship was you HAVE to register online to go into Panama. Not sure how it will work for cruise ending in Panama. We missed our original flight because we could not figure out how to do fill out the form.

We were the last to board our flight to Panama because of the form.  I had our QR code all printed only to be told at the counter that it was only good for 3 days and I had completed it 7 days ahead. I never saw that documented anywhere but I could have missed it.  Considering the form includes your date of arrival someone in their IT failed to include that simple check and notification for the online form.  We flew Copa Airlines and one of their supervisors let us proceed to the gate and met us there to help me complete the forms for my dad and I.

48 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Interesting....there is no link or reference to "TellUs" on the Viking website.  Or none that I have been able to find.

It is an email address: tellus@vikingcruises.com

2 hours ago, akronmaid said:

Which excursion to St. Georges?

St Georges Discovery (3.5 hours) or

St Georges Old Town and Nature Experience? (2 hours)

 

Transportation, Free time, and quality of tour info would be helpful

My dad and I did the St Georges Discovery on the July 27 departure.  We were in a taxi van with one other couple.  We had about 30 minutes free time in Kings Square area after our visits to Fort St Catherine and St. Peter's Church.  We then drove over to Tucker's Town and back to the ship.  Our driver/guide was very informative and we enjoyed the tour.  We did the afternoon option so traffic on the way back meant that it was closer to 4.5 hours.

19 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

 

Good to know ... I think you meant July 27, not Aug.

 

 

Yes, It was July 27.  Our driver/guide made several stops for photos and 4 where we exited the van and had at least 15 minutes to explore where we were.

23 hours ago, lucytravel said:

Anyone have any suggestions on the excursions.  I booked the pink sands and scenic south shore bus ride.  But I`m second guessing 3 hrs on a bus though. Also can you get to the beach for a few hours. Leaving 9/3. Hope all goes well.

We did that tour during the August 27 cruise.  They used vans that held about 13 people but we only had 10 in ours.  There were enough stops along the way that we didn't feel confined to the van for excessive amounts of time.

5 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

Maybe later today they'll do the drills with port-side lifeboats.

While we were waiting to disembark on August 3 they had the port side boats in the water.  I saw two of the bigger boats and one runabout.

3 hours ago, WanderingBrit said:

Viking provided the negative PCR test, but no one anywhere had any interest in it.

What airline did you fly?  Delta was definitely checking for the negative test when we flew home on August 3.

17 minutes ago, formernuke said:

Could you do the sample before going to bed?

The tubes are provided at turn down time so I don't see why not but my dad would go straight to bed after dinner so that would not have worked for us either.  I don't think that you are supposed to eat or drink within an hour before the sample is provided.

Hopefully, by now, everyone is aware of the morning saliva in a tube routine required for Covid-19 testing.  What you might not know, or think of, is that you will receive a phone call from housekeeping if you decide to sleep in and they haven't received your tube(s) by around 10 AM.  My dad (84) regularly sleeps past 10 and we received the phone call twice.  Fortunately, it only woke him up once. I haven't seen an absolute deadline for providing the test tube(s) but if you are planning to sleep in on an at sea day or otherwise you might let your cabin steward/housekeeping know the night before. I decided that I would rather deal with aggravated housekeeping than my dad's dementia aggravated by not getting a full night's sleep. They were understanding of our situation but were insistent that we provide them as soon as possible.

8 hours ago, WanderingBrit said:

I can’t recall if this has been covered before, but apparently Bermuda is limiting cruises to half capacity. We have 400 on board according to the GM.

Guest Services informed me that we had 418 on the July 27 departure.

On 8/3/2021 at 8:54 PM, JM0115 said:

A question for those cruising this week and last.  Did the ship show any of the olympics? Any thing on the big screen?

I was on the cruise last week and could not locate any coverage.  They do have CNBC and MSNBC in the room but when they were scheduled to have Olympic coverage on https://www.nbcolympics.com/ I didn't see it so maybe the ship's feed for those is different.  I did mention my disappointment at not being able to watch in my post cruise survey.  Maybe if you complain early on they may be able to do something.

Is the hole in the shower door standard for all cabin levels or is this a feature reserved for basic veranda cabins only? I am convinced that sometime this trip I'm going to use the handheld shower head, lose track of where it is facing, and shoot water straight through there.

5 minutes ago, cpastu said:

Our cruise starting July 20 is skipping St.George. Schedule is Hamilton 2 nights, at sea 1, 2 nights in Dockyards, at sea 1, then Hamilton for the last 2. We received the email from Viking last week.

We received the same email this week for the July 27 departure.

17 hours ago, Azulann said:

Note the “other preferred option”.

Great!  That does seem to provide some flexibility for outside the normal hours.

3 hours ago, Azulann said:

Breakfast  on our balcony ! Food was hot and right on time.

Are there time frames that limit ordering breakfast for your cabin or is it available at any time?  My dad likes to sleep late so I thought it might be an option after the dining rooms have stopped breakfast service.

21 hours ago, TxSunny said:

Thanks so much to CCWinelover for all of the very helpful information.  We are on 7/27 sailing, had our Snorkel/Swim cancelled also, sadly.  It will all work out.  All of your posting have been very helpful.  Thanks! Enjoy your sailing.

Strange, it is still showing as a sold  out option on MVJ for both days in St. George's. I would think that if it is cancelled they would remove it so people not in the know wouldn't be waiting to try and get added on board.

Just discovered that there are two holidays during the July 27 sailing.  I don't think that Emancipation Day will be an issue since it is a sea day.  However, Mary Prince Day is our first day in St. George's. Did National Heroes Day cause any disruption for those of you that were on the first Bermuda Escape?  Does anybody know if there are any events/celebrations that I should take advantage of that we wouldn't otherwise get to enjoy?

On 6/19/2021 at 11:56 AM, ohiojohn said:

 

Last Sunday, my son went into the ER, they kept him overnight.  The gold standard  PCR test was given to him as a requirement for his admission.  He tested positive and was put on a Covid floor.  The next day the Hospital drew blood and tested him for antibodies.  The antibody test cleared him from Covid.  So my wife using her nursing background did extensive research on Covid false positives.  I have no beef with anyone going on these Bermuda cruises.  I booked knowing of the restrictions and face mask wearing.  But frankly I was not aware of false positives and the firm 14 day quarantine  by the Bermuda government.  So as others have said they are reviewing their risk tolerance as we are.  However small the odds are of us having a breakthrough case, maybe at this junction other vacation locations in the USA may fit our risk tolerance at this time.  Just our thoughts at this time, as we are reading this thread.

Did your wife's research reveal anything about false negatives?  I'm just curious how it is determined that the positive result was in error and not the subsequent negative one. It seems to me that if the test isn't 100% reliable it would have errors in the other direction as well. Just wondering if it is possible that people who test negative on the ship are actually positive but the error is in their favor at the moment.

Just now, B_A_H said:

@molymoo and @Hockeyump, what you've shared is the picture I had in my mind.  Someone with money, influence, or both wanting to show off their money, influence, or both decided to hold court. The surprise isn't that he (and the plenty of people like him) would attempt to do something like this but that Viking actually facilitated it.  

 

To be honest we're all playing the odds in attempting to cruise so early in the industry's return. Granted those odds for people that are vaccinated are good but anyone of those 326 passengers could end up a breakthrough case.  Viking deviating from their own protocols, and on the first of the series of Bermuda sailings, doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies about their commitment to safety.  If they are bowed so easily by money, influence, or both where's the line? I wonder if this lapse of judgment was ship-based or something corporate was actively involved in. 

1 hour ago, molymoo said:

Mover and shaker aside, if giving him “what he wants” means deviating from the safety protocols you have put in place to protect your passengers (all of them, not just his minions) then that’s not okay.  I’m surprised he (supposedly such a supporter of Viking … ahem) would ask them to do so.  Come on … two max in an elevator, four in a pool, and six in the spa … twenty in a stateroom is simply over the top not okay.

I understand your concern but Viking already abandoned the protocols before those cruisers ever arrived in Bermuda.  When they announced the itinerary change on Monday they also removed the Viking shore excursion only limit.  Given that passengers are allowed to go out on their own and interact with others on the island who may not be vaccinated it wouldn't be logical for Viking to have prohibited a group of vaccinated passengers from getting together.  I would be more worried about the independent travelers on shore then a group of vaccinated Viking lovers who I'm sure want the Welcome Back cruises to succeed.

Due to medications he is taking my dad must avoid caffeine.  Even though we are American we are tea drinkers rather than coffee.  Does anyone know if they have decaf Earl Grey or English Breakfast tea bags on board or should we bring our own?

22 hours ago, Azulann said:

That is great news! You are all set!  

Have a fabulous time in Bermunda and on the Viking Orion. 

 

I will continue to search for a private  lab /testing site here in the Twin Cities  that is more in line with the cost you paid.  but I am willing to pay $295 if I cannot find a better deal. 

My other  hope is that in July  Bermuda will drop its pre PRC covid test?!   

They had no new cases in Bermuda on Tuesday... 

Have you checked out Passport Health (https://www.passporthealthusa.com/) and Any lab Test Now (https://www.anylabtestnow.com/locations/)? I believe that they have locations near you.  The ones near us are a little bit less than the $295 but cost may vary by location.

17 hours ago, Mav&Rowdy said:

Restrooms in the public areas on the Viking Ocean cruise ships are plentiful and well marked and always spotless. Never ever any lines. This will be especially true on your cruise since the ship will only be at half capacity. We live in Indialantic and will be on the Bermuda cruise just before yours. Go to the Orion Message Boards to see more specific discussions about your cruise. There are currently several active topics. 

Thanks for letting me know!  I have been following the Roll Calls for the other departures.  I didn't find one for our date so I started one but there hasn't been any activity since.  At least I'm learning much from the discussions on the other ones.

5 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

I believe all of the public restrooms (save the little known ones I described earlier on the Aquavit Terrace) have this sound effect (or alternatively one of ocean waves crashing). If you happen to be in the staterooms above the ones outside the theatre, you can sometimes hear them in your stateroom bathroom too! 😂

 

I realized there is one other set of public toilets that are sorta hard to find sometimes. These are the ones for The Restaurant. They are located just aft of the fire door as you exit  from the dining room on the port side-entrance to The Restaurant is on starboard. The fire door is typically held open when the dining room is operating but is closed when it is not. But, if one walks up to this door, it opens automatically and the restrooms are “right there”. This is on Deck 2 and is the easiest restroom to use while walking the promenade. Or working on the public jigsaw puzzle. 
 

One other thought, at most of the restroom locations there is a single use accessible restroom. These have automatic doors. One has to push a button on the exterior for the door to open and then (as I recall) lock them from the interior by pushing a button. To exit you have to push another button. Depending on your Dad’s issues, those might be complicated to use. 

Thanks for the great information!  Dad shouldn't have an issue with the piped in sounds but the buttons would confuse him.