Mich3554

We recently had access to laundry services on a river cruise and I have to admit I really do like this perk more than anything. I have to see if I like it enough to start upgrading from our standard PV.

Yes. Our only B2B2B cases were at the last stop. On our river cruise last month, there were 2 positives that popped up the first 3 days, then no more.

It’s really hard to know exactly what or why someone gets Covid, and someone doesn’t. A few weeks ago, I was exposed to my (unvaccinated) sister who had an active case of Covid. She tested positive and wasn’t feeling well. We spent about 48 hours together eating, drinking and talking. Both DH and I are vaccinated and boosted. Both of us figured if we were going to get it, it would be here. It has been 5 months since we were boosted. Nothing. We did isolate from people on the off chance we could carry it to more vulnerable people, but both of us remained well.

I bring a lingerie bag to put underwear and socks in to wash. I came back to my cabin after emptying the dryer to find I was missing the mates of 4 pair of socks. I only brought 6 pair, so this was a problem. Luckily, no one had gone into the dryer I just vacated, so 8 found them all. Next trip, I’m bringing a couple hooks to hang wet coats on to let them dry out before returning to closet.

No discussion of gratuities, that wasn’t the subject. Viking was looking for ways to enhance their services. This included different routes, new and different types of excursions, possibility of themed cruises (wine tasting, music, etc).

I’m thinking flights is the big source. On the river cruise we just got off of, there were 4 removed, one couple the first day and another the third. After that, none. It seems that the river cruise seems to be adjusting testing to results, it’s looking like if the first several days are Covid free, the rest of the trip goes untested. If there are cases the first few days, they continue to test.

It depends on the port. I was recently asked to be in a Viking focus group, wanting to know what Viking could do to enhance our experiences. One of the comments I made was that it would be useful when we received our final e documents to know which ports a shuttle would be provided in. The comment was very well received, so am curious if Viking complies. However, what I have seen is that many pay no attention to the information that is provided to them in their e documents.

If you are concerned about getting ticketed in business class, you can always book your own seats. We flew AeroMexico out of Seattle to Santiago, out of Buenos Aires back a few years ago. We had fabulous connections through Mexico City, the service in business was comparable to anyone else and it was about $2500pp less than what Viking quoted us for flights to South America. We had no problem getting to/from airports on our own. We hired a tour guide to take us to wineries, and he dropped us off at the ship in Valparaiso. We did Iguazu Falls on our own, spending time in BA too. Our hotel arranged for transit to the airport. When you book on your own, you have control. The other side of the coin is that if a problem arises, you get to deal with it, not Viking. I’m ok with that, but others may not be comfortable.

YMMV. We were on a 54 day ocean cruise last Nov and Dec (actually, 3 cruises). Positive results were announced. We recently got off a river cruise a few weeks ago. Again, positive cases were announced, we lost 4/140 on that cruise. So our experience does not mirror your’s.

All of this. Our cruise last month, we were booked through Viking Air. We stayed in Amsterdam on our own a few days, and expected to need to get ourselves to the ship under our own power. We have only once found Viking transfers to make sense, and the situation was unique. It was when we were getting off in Valparaiso, and needed to catch a flight out of Santiago the following day. It was a couple hour drive from Valparaiso to Santiago and we had OBC that we needed to eat or lose. Viking offered a private driver to take us to our hotel. It wasn’t cheap but it ate up the rest of our credits,

Here’s a copy of the back of the Viking Daily. All times are listed.

Viking is needing to respond to airline cancellations. They cannot control airline schedule changes, only inform you of them.

We pick a combination of included and optional, depending on interests. Occasionally, DH and I go in different directions, but usually we like the same things. There have always been optional excursions that have interested us. Not in every port, but in many. Sometimes it is difficult to choose. We tend to book as soon as they show up on MVJ, because there is a risk they’ll be full/sold out. Yes, you need to pay when booked.

You will have nearly 6 months!

I thought we were of the one and done variety too (even though we are 202 days from our first one). But now I wonder……. A few years ago, I asked my Viking rep to let me know when the 2024 cruises drop because that was DH’s anticipated retirement. Covid happened, so did early retirement so we scheduled for 2022-23. However, my rep called me to let me know that the later cruises had dropped. Rather than thank my rep for remembering my request, DH wanted to know the itinerary. My best guess is that had the itinerary been a little different, we’d be scheduled for a second world cruise. I may have created a monster!

DH had the exact thing happen with his pair of Merrill’s when we were in Uruguay, and another 18 days left of the cruise. We went shoe shopping in Punta del Este, and his shoes disappeared. Our cabin steward took them away and repaired them, good as new. Not gonna mention that DH had bought a 2 brand new pair 2 months before we sailed on this 54 day cruise, and brought the 15 year old pair of shoes instead! I guess I did!

This is an awesome cruise. We did it twice (both directions) and would do it again.

No more than a few days, normally one.

We were asked at the airline counter for our test results returning home yesterday, and warned US customs might ask. So it is very much hit or miss, even though we have been asked for test results at the airport counter, both directions and to get into airport lounges in the 3 overseas trips we have taken since we started traveling again.

I just listened to the podcast and DH just overheard it. His comment was that if Viking started putting the things he wanted on Viking, we’d be looking at another cruise line. Different strokes for different folks. We just got off of a river cruise and spent several days in both Budapest and then Prague. Budapest was our last stop. When we got to Prague (a destination that neither DH nor I had been to), both of us wished we had an ‘included excursion’ to give us a bit more history of the area. If I want to go to a casino, there are a dozen a stone throw from where I live. In fact, the only reason why we even go to one is that they have a very excellent restaurant in it. I can find karaoke or other such entertainment like this at local bars downtown. So why would I spend $500+/day to do what I could do at home? The other thing I objected to is that how Viking directs everyone. Viking directs you up to the point you want to be directed. I schedule our flights, our ground transportation and additional extensions or excursions outside if Viking too. I also spend a considerable amount of time doing so…..because I am adding value to what WE want to do. Some people want the all inclusive part, where Viking takes care of you from airport to airport. Why is this a bad thing? TBH, it’s a good thing as not everyone can navigate as well as others and need the help. I think it is funny that we deliberately chose a cruise line for reasons he objected to Viking.n Again, different strokes…

You need to call the airlines. Delta did this to us last winter for our flight home from Santiago. The Jupiter was supposed to dock 12/22, and we had flight reservations I had made to leave that night. Delta contacted me about a month before we left that our flight had been moved to 12/20. Yeah….that wasn’t gonna work, we were still going to be sailing fjords then. The alternative on 12/22 had us connecting through 4 different airports instead of one. We wound up changing our flight to 12/23 instead. We had a night in Santiago, and had to find another Covid test, but everything worked out for us.

You put your tube in a sealed bag and drop said sealed bag into another bag. Even if you leave the tubes outside the door, they are still in a sealed bag. I have worked in a lab for 30+ years and this is pretty much standard when I collected human samples for other things. Covid doesn’t just jump into a sealed tube, in a sealed bag.