CoolBeansVA

1 hour ago, Iloveketo said:

So, your doctor gave you a prescription you could have filled before your cruise just in case you got COVID?

Had you ever taken it before?

Yes, my husband and I had doctor’s appointments before we left.  Given our ages and health, and the fact that we were going to be on the other side of the world for six weeks, she agreed that it was prudent for us to carry Paxlovid “just in case.” Of course, she ran the appropriate tests (renal panel), discussed alteration of our chronic meds, and told us we’d still have to follow local quarantine rules.

We’d never taken it before because we’d never had Covid before.

Wish I could edit my last post, but can’t from my iPad.  I didn’t mean “coercion”; I meant “charade”.  I do not think the medical staff are being coercive in any way.

I do have another quibble with them, however.  They state in person and in print that the mandatory isolation period for Covid-positive passengers is “5 nights.”  However, the night count starts the day after the testing day, which is called Day 0.  So, I said to the medical officer, then it’s actually 6 days, right?  No, he said, it’s 5 nights.  Day 0 plus 5 nights adds up to 6 days, I argue.  No, it’s 5 nights, he repeats.  (Who’s on first?)

We get daily calls from a nurse to check in our how we’re feeling.  After 5 nights of isolation, my husband asked if his time was up,  No, Day 0 doesn’t count, you have another day, the nurse replied.  GeezeLouise.  It’s six days!  Call it what it is!

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

TayanaLorna’s observations in the infirmary — passengers being told that if they tested positive for Covid, they’d have to isolate for six days, did they want to be tested, no thanks — imply that Viking has replaced its focus on passenger wellness with indifference.  I am deeply disappointed.

We didn’t experience this look-the-other-way coercion because we showed up in the infirmary announcing that we’d self-tested positive that morning.  So the jig was up.

We’re on our fifth Viking Ocean cruise.  We were very impressed with Viking’s leadership in establishing science-based Covid policy, and had no qualms about taking our first post-Covid cruise last year.  At that time, Covid tests were mandatory at embarkation and daily while onboard.  Passengers all wore contact tracing devices on lanyards, crew members were masked at all times, and we were encouraged to mask in crowded areas such as the Star Theater and on busses.  I never heard anybody complaining — we all had agreed to these conditions before booking — and we were rewarded with a heathy and enjoyable two-week adventure.

On our present cruise, we knew they had dispensed with contact tracers and were offering onboard Covid tests only upon request, but we were surprised that there was no Covid testing at embarkation.  We assumed that a negative test would be a routine entrance requirement.  Once on board, it’s as though Covid is fully behind us.  Neither passengers nor crew members are masking.  A note in the Viking Daily recommends onboard masking, but also says, “Face masks are optional while moving about the ship, but highly recommended for those guests with a persistent cough.”   (Ahem, perhaps passengers with persistent coughs should get themselves tested).
 

Anyway, my husband and I continued to mask in the theater, on busses and whenever we shared an elevator with others, because we believe that judicial masking in indoor public places was one of the practices that helped keep us from ever getting Covid in the last three years.  But we didn’t mask at meals or when having drinks in the Explorer’s Lounge or coffee in the Living Room.

And Covid finally caught us.  Fortunately we came prepared with Paxlovid, which we started ten minutes after our positive tests, and we are improving each day.  Unfortunately, we are in mandatory isolation in our stateroom for 6 days, during which we are missing two key ports of our itinerary and, frankly, going stir-crazy.

So here’s a question:  Do you think it would be helpful for passengers to know approximately how many Covid cases are on board?  I have friends at home who live in retirement communities that are ‘cruise-like”  in their social and group dining amenities, and they always know the daily headcount of cases among residents and staff.  When numbers go up, they take more precautions.  
 

I asked for a case count at the infirmary when I got my positive test results confirmed, and was told that information is not disclosed.  Huh.  There are indications that the number of cases is not insignificant. For one, we heard a fair amount of coughing on busses and around the ship before we got sick. Two, most every time we call room service for meals, we’re told that delivery time will be a little longer because they’re very busy.  Three, all passengers had to go through immigration when we docked in Australia.  Because we’re in isolation, our passports were picked up in our room for processing. The person who picked up ours had a box with what looked like over two-dozen passports already in it.  
 

I do get that we’re all tired of Covid and just want to move on and live our lives (that’s why we’re on this trip).  But I also feel that a few more precautions (such as pre-embarkation testing and more routine masking for passengers and crew members) are a modest nuisance compared to spending nearly a week in isolation.

Not trying to incite a political discussion, folks!!  All politics aside, what balance of precautions and information feels right for you?

The fridge is large enough to hold a bottle of wine horizontally.  I think there will be a bottle of bubbly awaiting you in your PV.  Whether they’ll replenish it with wine, I cannot say.

Cheesy grits are awesome ❤️, but I’ve never seen them on Viking Ocean.  The made-to-order omelettes in the World Cafe and crispy bacon are my go-to’s.

I agree with others that you’ve made a great choice upgrading to a Penthouse Veranda, and that you need one with a slider.  We found the hinged door difficult to use.  I can’t imagine dealing with it with a walker.  
 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

It’s really quite simple:  Get dressed for meals.  No pjs and bathrobes at breakfast, no exposed chests and bathing suits at lunch.

We really like spiffing up a bit for dinner when we’re dining in a nice restaurant, so that’s what we do in The Restaurant, Chef’s Table, and Manfredi’s.  On our Viking cruises a few years ago, that seemed to be commonplace.  On our one cruise post-Covid, not so much. We saw lots of men wearing baggy chinos or cargo pants and athletic shoes, the same attire they wore all day while touring.

I think Viking’s dress code for dinner would be much improved if it specified “real” shoes instead of sneakers.  When you put on a pair of nice shoes, cargo pants look out of place.  Switch them out for a nice pair khakis or trousers, and voila!  You’re ready for your dinner date!  

We are on Viking Sky now.  An acquaintance onboard tested positive yesterday and was relocated to an isolation stateroom on deck three, where she will stay until we all disembark in Athens three days from now.  

No complaints here, either!  It is thrilling to be in groups once again knowing that everyone is vaxxed and Covid-negative.  I applaud Viking for its dedication to keeping us healthy.

On Viking Sky now, March 5-19, and Italy is not allowing passengers to go outside the bubble.  Croatia is.  Have yet to hear about Greece.

We were in Rome on our own when Italy relaxed its requirements on March 1st, and thought maybe we wouldn’t need to get another test before embarking on Viking Sky.  But I emailed tellus and the reply was that we still needed that extra test in order to board.  It was very easy in Rome:  We went to the farmacia across the street from our hotel, without an appointment, and got rapid antigen tests for 22 euro apiece.  Results were posted online 30 minutes later, but we couldn’t navigate the Italian website to obtain them (there’s no English option on the site). So we returned to the farmacia and they printed them out for us.  At check-in, Viking asked for and inspected those results, but also administered another rapid antigen test then and there (saying it was required by the port of Civetevecchia).  An our later we got PCR saliva tests from Viking.  So we were literally tested three times within 24 hours.  

4 hours for us yesterday.  Samples picked up at 2, results posted on TV at 6.  We were watching a movie, though, and didn’t see the results until after the movie ended, at 6:30, when we returned to the main menu on the TV.  

We embarked on the Viking Sky yesterday.  We had spent a week in Rome on our own beforehand, so got rapid antigen tests the day before at the farmacia next to our hotel.  Arrived at Civetecchia terminal at 12:45, where Viking administered another rapid antigen test.  A half-hour later, we were cleared to board.  After brief safety video in Star Theater, we went to our stateroom, where a lovely lunch awaited us.  Our PCR samples were picked up at 2:00 and our results were posted on our TV at 6:00.  Had dinner in the Restaurant at 7:30, very empty, and impeccable service as always.  A passenger at breakfast told me there are approximately 400 pax aboard.  

No fees to access spa pool/whirlpool, sauna, and snow room.

Spa services such as massages and facials cost extra.

On Wednesday I emailed tellus to ask whether their stated 48 hour PCR testing window was incorrect, given other sources (Delta Airlines, the Italian visitor locator site, CNN, and Forbes) stated the window was 72 hours for travelers from the US (and 48 hours for the UK).  I got a call back from a Viking agent who looked at these conflicting sources and conceded that the Viking info might need updating.  She promised to look in to it further.  Meanwhile, she advised us to adhere to Delta’s 72-hour rule for our upcoming flights.

Indeed, the Viking info was updated yesterday.  The top portion of the 2/24 revised document correctly states that it’s a 72-hour window for US travelers and a 48-hour one for UK travelers.  Unfortunately, this correction failed to be incorporated into the check-list  later in the document, which erroneously still says 48 hours.

This is an important difference for those of us who don’t live near major airport hubs.  We need to get our PCR results before we board our first outbound flight, so scheduled the tests 48 hours before we leave.  If our flights arrive on time, we’ll arrive in Rome  3 1/2 hours before the 72-hour window closes.  I have no idea what happens if delays put us past that.

What Delta Airlines told us:

From Forbes Advisor 2/15/22:

”Travelers from the United States are allowed to enter Italy, and there are no restrictions on the type of travel permitted.

To enter the country, you must have the following information available for travelers 6 and older (children under 6 are exempt from testing and quarantine requirements):

• A completed Passenger Locator Form. This online European Union form is used for contact tracing if you’re exposed to an infectious disease like Covid during your stay. Travelers whose final destination is Italy, France, Malta or Slovenia should fill out the form. 
• A completed self-declaration form that may be collected by your airline or Italian law enforcement when you arrive in Italy.
• A negative molecular PCR test or a rapid antigen test for Covid-19, performed within 72 hours prior to arriving in Italy or a rapid antigen test for Covid result within 24 hours of arrival. A rapid antigen test should be accompanied with an anti-Covid vaccination certificate for an European Medicines Agency (EMA)-recognized vaccine or a medical certificate confirming recovery from Covid dated no more than six months before departure. 
• Passengers over the age of 50 are required to be vaccinated for travel through June 15, 2022.”

From CNN travel article 2/18/22:

“Travelers arriving from List D countries must present proof of vaccination (with the conditions above), along with a negative test, taken within 72 hours of arrival (PCR) or within 24 hours of arrival (antigen). For those coming from the UK, the PCR test must be taken within 48 hours.”

I have read this same requirement on numerous sites.   The USA is a List D country.

Gee, I hope the get-tested-within-48 hours-of-landing-in-Italy is incorrect.  That IS what it says on our latest update from Viking, but the Italian websites claim a 72-hour window, and that’s what we’re planning.  PCR tests Thursday morning, flight to Rome Saturday night with arrival Sunday morning for 6 days there on our own before embarking on Viking Sky.

I guess I place more faith in official Italian websites than in Viking email.  Please correct me if I’m wrong and need to reschedule our tests.

My understanding is Americans have a 72-hour window, Brits have a 48-hour one.  
 

Sigh.

The hotel for the 3/19 - 3/23 Classic Greece extension is the Intercontinental Athenaeum

Just now, Moonlion said:

What ARE the chirping birds in the bathrooms??? Please tell me it's not some type of piped in mood "thing."

There are birds chirping in the public bathrooms on Viking Ocean ships.  I am not making this up.  I assume it’s to obscure any other sounds.  Ahem.  Yes, piped in.  But not Muzak 😎

Can we all agree that we love the chirping birds in the bathrooms 🥰

Hooray!  Happy for you, Gojagators!

Yes, our desired Athens extension was sold out when we booked our upcoming March cruise back in September.  We kept checking on MVJ and lo and behold, it became available in January, and we booked it. We don’t know whether it’s because people had cancelled or Viking added more capacity.  So keep checking back and good luck!