Janet&David

4 minutes ago, uktog said:

you did not mention rose just daily red or white

When the waiter comes to your table he just offers red or white, but there is always a 'house' rose if you ask for it.

3 hours ago, uktog said:

This is maybe a stupid question but if I see a gin at $6 do I pay the extra $ also shown for a tonic on a later page if I am "paying as I go"  This might be a "decider"

I've always assumed that you do have to pay for mixers on top of the spirits. You'll see that the mixers are in 20cl measures, a fairly usual mixer amount, whereas coke and sprite are 33cl, a 'standard' soft drink can. Even with this extra, Viking drinks do seem reasonably priced compared to other cruise lines. For us the options of a sail-away prosecco in the Explorers' Lounge, a G&T (or 2!) in the evening and soft drinks during the day (it's a pity that Viking don't include these for everyone) pushes us over the line to opt for the Silver Spirits package. It's also nice to have the upgraded pairing wines in the Chef's Table (in theory a $25 supplement) but for us this is a bonus rather than a reason to buy the package. Plus you can choose from a reasonably wide range of wines by the glass at lunch and dinner rather than the daily standard offering of one red or one white.

In the North of England (particularly in Yorkshire and Lancashire) we have an expression that someone or something is "all fur coat and no knickers". It's quite likely that this has no US equivalent or translation but this summed up our impression of Crystal on the one cruise we've been on. Cunard similarly lives on its past glory, with an anachronistic hierarchy.  Viking is a much more consistent offering with excellent service and good value, regardless of whether or not it is labelled "luxury".

WiFi and satellite bandwidth is sufficiently good to make and receive WhatsApp voice calls onboard as well as text. Handy for keeping in touch with the folks back home, particularly on sea days when you can't access shore based phone networks.

We sailed on one of the first 'around England' Viking cruises in May and ventured on our first 'international' cruise last month on the Viking Sea from Malta around Croatia - where we could explore freely. For both cruises we didn't really plan anything until a couple of weeks before we sailed - with a review of risks etc just before the 14-day limit for risk-free cancellation.

Both cruises were great. The second didn't feel quite so safe as there was a significant minority of passengers who wouldn't wear masks but still reasonably low risk. We didn't book any extras (excursions, drinks package etc) in advance in case we needed to cancel (apart from one optional walking tour in Malta as we had decided not to go on the 3 hour included bus tour with a bus fall of people straight off long haul flights). We also didn't book port/airport parking until we had passed the 14-day point and didn't book COVID tests until a few of days before sailing in case requirements changed (although we lined up a test company that could do the tests at short notice). We wore what I would call 'weapons grade' face masks on the planes and in airports (the queue for the health documentation checks in Malta airport was very long, with no social distancing) and 'ordinary' masks on the ship (although Janet had a couple of 'bling' masks for evening wear).

We've got two more Viking cruises booked for 2022 and plan to adopt a similar approach for those - assuming nothing dramatic changes before then. I'm sure you'll have a great time on your cruise.

We returned recently from a cruise on Viking Sea with 497 passengers out of a total capacity of 930 (i.e. just over 50% full). I'd be surprised if Viking are taking bookings for March at more than about 60-65% capacity. This means that currently there are almost certainly unbooked cabins in every category - it just shows as fully booked as they've set artificial limits on availability. You'd think that there should be some way of getting on a wait list for these cabins, but it could be company policy not to. One thing that may be worth trying is to phone Viking directly rather than via your agent. Unfortunately the Viking call handlers in the UK office vary quite a lot - some seem to manage to get around limitations of the booking system whereas others take the line of "computer says 'no'". We dealt a couple of times with Marios, who seemed to be able to work the system better than most - you could try asking for him. 

We have a slightly different approach. We look at a map of the itinerary and try to decide which side of the ship will have a better view of the coasts we are passing to have a greater chance of seeing something other than sea from our balcony. As others have said, it's difficult to predict which side the ship will dock in port (whereas it is quite easy to predict where countries will be) - and also the view across the port is often at least as interesting as the view of the dock.

I know these cruises are a bit pricey, but I assume this is a typo. 13 days in Tromso/Svalbard for £99,999. Elon Musk or Richard Branson would take you into space for not much more!  🙂
 

11 hours ago, les37b said:

Were you able to upload your vaccine doc for the PLF? It wouldn't accept ours, even after taking all the effort to downloading, then emailing to myself, logging onto the Seas mega PC centre. The GS staff told us not to bother with verifly, but not doing so meant we couldn't check in for the BA flight.

We also could not upload the vaccine doc/QR code for the PLF (I should have mentioned this). We had the document as a pdf, jpeg image and also tried to scan it directly during the PLF online application. Eventually the application process recognised that we were moving into fly-banging-its-head-against-the-window territory and suggested we chose the option that we did not have proof of vaccination (slightly worrying doing this) and that we could show proof when the PLF was checked. This worked fine, but showed yet another flaw in the system.

We didn't bother with VeriFLY for the return flight to London. The Maltese and UK governments don't require it, nor does Air Malta. Just another example of BA being a pain in the whatsit.

As a final note, we had our day 2 PCR tests today at a drive-through ExpressTest test centre in Reading FC stadium car park. Someone does the test on you which removes the need to stuff something up your own nose, ensures the test is carried out correctly and you don't need to send back the test yourself. Literally no queue (one other car in another lane while we were being tested and another car came in as we left) - I presume volumes are down and I'd guess they'll close the centre after half term at the latest. ExpressTest also do testing in Heathrow (and perhaps other airport) arrivals terminals but we didn't want to add another step to yesterday's already potentially fraught journey. At £69 for the test they are more expensive than Randox but similar to may others. From our experience I'd recommend them. Result by 10pm tomorrow.  

Just got back to the UK today from Viking Sea cruise of Malta & Croatia. Very good cruise, overall. I thought I’d post a few comments about documentation and procedures for return to the UK (or via the UK for US travellers).

For UK travellers, as you probably know, you need to complete an online Passenger Locator Form (PLF) before returning to the UK. This should be submitted not more than 48 hours before departure. I’m not sure whether there is any check on precise departure time or whether it just means ‘2 days’ but as it happened we completed ours about 47 hours before our scheduled flight departure.

You can do this from any computer or mobile device and get the completed form emailed to you to save on your device or print out. However, I strongly recommend you print a hard copy as the checkers at the airport seem to prefer this and it’s certainly much easier and quicker than passing a phone to the checker, scrolling up and down a four A4 page document, following links etc. I just logged onto my email from one of the computers in the Viking Sea’s ‘business centre’ (a rather grand name for 4 PCs and 2 printers on deck 2) and printed out our two PLFs. UK passengers currently need the reference code for their Day 2 PCR test (although I think this is changing soon) in order to complete the PLF.

The checking of the documents in Malta airport is carried out at the Air Malta check-in desk. They checked passport, PLF, proof of negative PCR test (provided by Viking) and proof of vaccination. As I said, we had all of this in hard copy which made the process very quick.

A note for US travellers. We saw several US passengers who when they got to the Air Malta desk clearly didn’t have something they were supposed to have and they had to step out of the line and fill in one or more paper forms which seemed to take quite a long time, when we didn’t have much time to spare before the flight. I’m not sure what the problem was – I suspect they may have needed a PLF for transiting through London Heathrow, but I could be wrong.

When we arrived at Heathrow we expected detailed checks and long delays, as shown on the TV news in the past few weeks. In fact we walked through the self-service electronic passport gates, picked up our bags and walked through an empty Customs section and out of the airport without talking to or being checked/challenged by a single sole. Clearly the UK Border Force is relying on the airline to carry out the checks which, as we weren’t over-impressed by the efficiency and professionalism of Air Malta staff, makes a bit of a joke of UK border security and health controls.

9 hours ago, Famsw said:

Hey general question for those of you on the Malta cruises. Did you need any paperwork/forms for the excursions in Italy, Greece etc?  Or are they not needed because Viking takes care of it?
Finally our large group is flying out of Barcelona (wonder if we need anything for Spain?) and transiting through Amsterdam.  We fly out about 4 hours later so do we need any type of Netherlands/Amsterdam forms?   Thanks all. 

 

Other than Malta we’re only visiting ports in Croatia (since Montenegro was removed from itinerary following an increase in cases). We won’t know for certain until Wednesday as we’re still in Malta today and at sea tomorrow but I’d be very surprised if we needed any further paperwork for excursions. As Malta seem to be the toughest in the Mediterranean (and probably the whole of Europe) in terms of health requirements I reckon everywhere else will be OK.
Speaking of which, expect a long wait at Malta airport. Don’t be fooled by getting through passport control surprisingly quickly - after that you face a long snaking line around the baggage hall, through customs (with absolutely no checks) up to the health documentation checking desks. It took us between 30 and 45 minutes but apparently some days it takes over an hour. It depends mainly on how many flights arrive close together - for us it was 4 or 5. All we needed at the health check desk was passport, Passenger Locator Form and proof of vaccination. They seemed to prefer these in paper form rather than VeriFLY etc.
Bon voyage. 

On 9/16/2021 at 4:09 PM, CharlieSpaniel said:

Safe travelling on Saturday les57b, and David & Janet. Please let us know how you get on arriving in Malta. We leave Scotland on Tuesday via stopover in Heathrow for Malta on Wednesday.

Your list was very helpful.

We're all set to go. Booked the PCR tests for after we return (we left it until yesterday in case UK Government decided they were no longer necessary - no such luck). Carried out lateral flow tests on ourselves this morning - all clear. The bulging folders with multiple copies of all the documents we may need are heavier than our suitcases. We're on the 10:50 Air Malta flight tomorrow. Alternative route to Heathrow airport checked as crucial bit of M4 motorway closed for the weekend; we'll have to rely on the satnav if the M25 is closed again by climate protesters. Oh for the days when you could throw a few things in a suitcase and head off on holiday without a care in the world!

9 minutes ago, les37b said:

Have you booked the pre-flight PCR? I have, but wont be testing unless the Maltese change their minds on a test being needed. ive paid for it (so not saving money), but acutely concerned an inconclusive or false negative will result in a cancelled holiday. I would kick myself, especially as its not a requirement.

Hi Les

David here, Janet's worse half.

As Janet said, we've done pretty much the same as you. Rather than pre-purchase a pre-flight PCR test I've found somewhere reasonably local where you can get a same day test, albeit at a ridiculous price. This should work up to and including Saturday 18th so the only way we'll be stuffed is if the Maltese government announces sometime after lunchtime on Saturday that they require PCR tests from midnight. We'll take that risk.

Theoretically you could argue that we need a second dPLF for when we return to Malta. While we be transiting through Malta itself in less than 12 hours on the 29th, we will have arrived in Gozo (which is part of the Republic of Malta) at 08:00 on the 28th. This PLF would have cruise ship as the means of travel and would have to show Croatia (including all the separate ports?) as temporary addresses/places visited. We've decided to ignore this possibility as that way leads madness in terms of time spent on admin exceeding time on cruise. If it turns out we do need one (and I've not seen any other source suggesting that this should be necessary) then we'll have to apply while we're on the ship - something to do on an 'at sea' day.

I'm sure you're right about the attractiveness of the coastlines and port entries. We were on a cruise a couple of years ago which included Dubrovnik, very picturesque if you can avoid the Game of Thrones posters and paraphernalia. It's a pity that we're no longer going to Kotor where the approach from the sea was a lot more picturesque/impressive than the town itself (unless you like cats).

I share your dislike for BA who have let us down virtually every time we have tried flying with them. I had to use them a lot when I was working. Five years after retiring I still have a 6-figure cache of airmiles/avios as I long since decided that generally I'd rather pay to fly with someone else than fly with BA for 'free'.

See you onboard  

David

2 hours ago, les37b said:

Looking on the verifly app, I can only see an option to embark, so not even sure it's an option to enter return details.

I was referring to the add 'A Trip to the UK' option - see image below/attached. It looks like you can add it before your outbound journey along with the Viking & Malta trips.

On 8/30/2021 at 8:20 PM, les37b said:

I've just completed our veryfly for our upcoming cruise on my phone

Did you set up 'A Trip to the UK' on VeriFLY for the return journey as well as trips for Malta and Viking? There seem to be mixed views on whether this is necessary.

17 hours ago, Azulann said:

I wanted to do the  art guide that is included

For future reference for your cruise in October, I'm fairly sure that when we were on Viking Venus in June the audio guide for the art only worked if you had earphones plugged into your phone. I didn't have any with me so couldn't listen. It could just have been a glitch with the app which otherwise seemed to function OK on an iPhone.

On 8/20/2021 at 9:48 AM, les37b said:

The cruises are (thankfully) still sailing and they are prepared to now allow "cruise only" bookings with a £150 discount, which you will obviously struggle to get an airfare for that price.

 

But it does open it up to use airlines like easyjet and arrive and depart when you like. You could probably even get your return fare for that price and then pay for a few days to site see Malta, which has been an option always available to US bookings.

A quick look at Skyscanner suggests that even easyJet is charging over £300 return from London airports to Malta when booking a month in advance. It looks like Malta's early placement on the green list (at one point it was the only real holiday destination on the list) has made it disproportionately popular. Not helped by airlines like BA who consistently put profit ahead of customer service, cancelling flights that I'm sure would be reasonably profitable to make super-profits on the remaining flights.

As all passengers and crew should be double vaccinated, COVID is most likely to be brought onto the ship by vaccinated passengers who have still unfortunately been infected before they boarded, probably on the plane flight (particularly long-haul) or hugging their unvaccinated grandchildren before leaving home.

So someone is most likely to test positive 2 to 4 days into the cruise. Avoiding bus tours for the first couple of days sounds like common sense. After that the risk (either of catching COVID or being quarantined because you were close to someone infected) should drop steadily.

On 6/21/2021 at 10:12 PM, NeilP57 said:

Hi folks,

 

Are you able to confirm what Viking required as to Vaccination status?

 

We are on the 31/7 departure to Iceland and we assume that the NHS App Covid pass will be sufficient but just wanted to check what was required on the UK Welcome Back cruises and when it was first checked.

 

Neil

Hi Neil

We had the NHS app ready on our phones but just showed the little cards - it seemed quicker and easier. 

David

4 hours ago, kcpvwill said:

Was it because one or more of the ports couldn’t accommodate them or just to offer an alternative?

I think that Viking gradually extended their programme of UK cruises. They started with three iterations of the England's Scenic Shores, which they contacted past customers about before promoting them on the open market. Then they added another couple of these cruise, with a week gap after the first three. I reckon when it looked like the cruises would run without too many snags they quickly added this week's cruise as a filler.

We were on the second of the first three cruises and had a great time. The offer to come back on board a week after we got home was tempting (and the prices were very good) but we decide to give it a miss and keep our fingers crossed that our next Viking cruise in November will go ahead. Not sure why they changed the itinerary - clearly saving the port fees for two fewer destinations and not providing inclusive excursions there would have reduced the costs.

By the way, I got the ports wrong on my previous post - this week's cruise is stopping at Liverpool and Falmouth.

David

55 minutes ago, kcpvwill said:

Just spotted Venus is off the west coast of Scotland today near the Inner Hebrides.  Where is it going?  Scotland isn’t allowing cruise ships at present.  

It's a cruise that was arrange to fill a week's gap in a series of 'English Scenic Shores' cruises. The cruise starts and ends in Portsmouth, stops in Liverpool and Portland and cruises the seas around Scotland for one or two days without docking anywhere.

4 hours ago, jenna37 said:

Does anyone know how the trivia is currently working with Covid restrictions? If teams of 4 or 6 are allowed does anyone want to make up a team with Jenna and I?

Jeff

On the 29 May cruise trivia was mainly in pairs. I think there were one or two groups of 4 but they may have been in a more general 'bubble' (e.g. travelling together).

17 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

I was not on the cruise but the published itinerary reminded me of my strong desire to visit the Isle of Scilly so we booked a weeks holiday there. We happened to be on Tresco waiting for our return boat when the Viking Venus passengers were arriving on Tuesday afternoon. I noticed that they were not using the Viking tender vessels to land at Tresco but were using the local open air boats that are used to ferry passengers between the Islands.

 

I also observed that passengers were not that distant from each other on the boat and by contrast to the gap of two rows on the bus that you mentioned they were very close. 

A very good point, Neil.

Because I genuinely believe that Viking did what they could to pull together some sort of destination experiences for this cruise and because the walk around the Tresco Gardens was by far the most enjoyable excursion I didn’t mention this issue, but it did give us some concern. As you point out, the boats used to transfer us from the Venus to the island were very crowded. Not only were we not socially distanced, it did not feel entirely comfortable from a maritime safety perspective. I’m not sure what it looked like from your viewpoint but we felt rather like migrant boat people!

The boats were provided by the St Mary’s Boatmen Association, a collective/cooperative that seems to have the monopoly on boat trips around the Scilly Isles. I assume that Viking were given the choice of “use our boats or don’t think about getting any passengers off the ship”. The boats returning to the ship were less crowded but still full. I suppose we were actually safe both ways, in terms of COVID (all the passengers were vaccinated and there were only 2 boat crew, and we were outside with a sea breeze) and marine safety (as they run trips between the islands for non-cruise tourists all year round, probably in much rougher conditions) but it didn’t feel up to Viking’s usual standards. If you google the Association’s website you will see photos of even more crowded boats in normal times.

I considered raising the issue with the Shorex Manager when we got back on board but didn’t as

a) I don’t think there is much that he or Viking could do and

b) possibly the only practical option would be to pull the plug on the Tresco excursions (the cruise the previous week had not been able to stop at the Scilly Isles because of bad weather) – I’m sure everyone would be willing to risk a short, slightly dodgy boat trip to see the beautiful gardens.

This week the Venus has had to anchor off Falmouth (possibly due to the G7 conference) and passenger photos on Facebook show that Venus’s tender craft were used, as you’d expect.

A minor point while on the subject of marine safety is the modified approach to the lifeboat/safety muster in these new times. Rather than everyone meeting in their assigned muster station (the theatre or the Restaurant) you go there in couples to get an individual briefing on how to put on a (new design) lifejacket and then return to your cabin to watch a safety video. At the end of this you must use the TV remote to confirm that you have watched and understood the video. Other passengers confirmed that if you don’t do this you are obliged to watch it again (until you do confirm). Altogether easier than the usual organised chaos.

48 minutes ago, jenna37 said:

Thank you J and D for a most comprehensive and informative review of your sailing. I have made reservations in the restaurants using MVJ and have reviewed the diary which shows the reservations have been logged. Do you know if that means that they are on the system or will we have to re-book once onboard.

Thanks again for taking the time to post your excellent review.

Jeff

Hi Jeff

Hopefully Viking will fix the systems but there appear to have been a range of problems with MVJ on recent cruises. We had problems making any reservations using MVJ - with our V1 cabin we were only entitled to make bookings for the Restaurant, which seemed to be required at that time. We phoned Viking and someone in the admin team phoned us and made reservations in the Restaurant for every night. When we boarded all the reservations had been lost and did not appear on our calendar on the TV in the cabin. Not a big deal, as I said, but we know that others lost speciality restaurant reservations too. We had taken a print-out of our calendar from MVJ (I don't trust technology!) and if there had been an issue I would have used this to make a moral claim on the slots I had booked. You may consider doing the same.

David

1 hour ago, Marmaduke said:

Thank you David and Janet for taking the time to post a very comprehensive review of your cruise, which is very helpful for those of us who don't do Facebook.  You mentioned dining in the specialty restaurants more than once. To obtain these extra reservations did you just turn up at the restaurant when you wanted to eat and enquire if they had any vacancies or did you pre- book, if so when and where  on board do you do this.

Hi. Apart from the first Chef's Table reservation which we made by phone on the first day we made all bookings at the Dining Reservations desk in the Atrium. In fact we made all four reservations in one discussion with the guest services person at the desk on the second or third day. She checked availability online and made the two reservations at each of the Chef's Table and Manfredi's. I suspect this may change as passenger numbers increase, but always worth a try.