Mich3554

I saw some similar on Amazon.  Same shape, but rather than all having blue bottoms there was a variety of colors.

2 hours ago, TravelBot said:

Hi, did you encounter bad weather on your way to the Falklands? We're thinking of going this December.

From my understanding, as the Falklands is a tender port, that chances of getting there is about 50%.  We made it, but the cruise after us and the one before us did not.  As I remember it, we had the worst weather attempting to go around the Horn on that cruise.  The captain started and did a U turn and took us back through the Beagle channel (I think this one).  The following trip (we did this twice in both directions, once before and once during Covid) we lost Falklands, but made it around the Horn.  Second sailing was much calmer than the first.

6 minutes ago, deec said:

I really miss those travel pouches!!!  They are great to help keep things organized.  I sure don't need anymore luggage tags but we did not get any extras with our 4 segment b2b cruises this winter.  Remember way back when Viking was new and we also got "thank you" gifts after the cruise?

 

I guess we should just be happy that  Viking has been able to stay in business and continue to provide a great journey!!!

We are acquiring a collection of pouches flying business class.  Delta’s are supplied by Tumi.

1 hour ago, glenr said:

We just returned from the Barcelona to Rome journey on Viking Sky. The only real issue was the change of departure port from Barcelona to Tarragona. I have a separate post where I covered that mess so won't delve deeper here. Having cruised Seabourn I was looking for a smaller ship and the Sky seemed to fit the bill. It is a lovely ship, well appointed and laid out. Our stateroom was very nice and I found the food venues all good to excellent. In some ways the service actually exceeded my prior experiences with Seabourn and that's a high bar. In fairness to Seabourn it has been some years since my last cruise with them. The Covid protocols were well organized. The embarkation went smoothly and the organization of the excursions went flawlessly. I really liked Viking Ocean. My only negative comment, and this is not on Viking, is that a lot of the passengers were old (and I'm 66) and less than sociable. I'm not sure if this is due to cross selling the river cruise folks or if it is even typical for their other cruises. Dress on board was rather casual which is fine, but there was the occasional baseball cap turned backwards and requests to wear shorts in the dining room. I was one of a few men who brought a sport jacket. We did meet some nice people of course but I was surprised to see how many kept to themselves. I would consider another cruise with Viking but may give Seabourn a try again. The latter seemed to have a somewhat more sophisticated crowd. I'm sorry if that sounds elitist, but there were people signing up for simple flat walking tours who couldn't even handle those. As I said earlier, I can't say enough about the staff on board. Truly excellent.

In reality, keeping to one’s self might be a result of Covid rather than sociability.  I noticed this was true on our last few cruises, that many were trying to keep their own bubble within the ship.  We pretty much did it on our last river cruise, to try to minimize the likelihood of getting booted off.  
 

No pouches on any cruise since the one we took in 2019-20.  We are getting a collection of luggage tags too.

2 hours ago, janetcbl said:

The only real difference between a PV and a PJS is slightly more space and free laundry. We always had PVs until our upcoming cruise, where the only available cabin was a PJS…looking forward to not having to do my own laundry!

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.

39 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

On 6/7/2022 at 10:29 AM, wcGma said:

First, I would like to say that I am sorry for those people on  this thread that experienced positive tests and Covid. I am glad that for most it was quite mild and that the quarantine, meals and contact with Viking was positive. That being said, it was certainly not the cruise one hoped to enjoy. 
 

I had a question for those who have been on cruises recently. Does it seem that the majority of cases are identified within the first few days of the cruise or for those on B2B, when the days following the new segment passengers boarding?  I have a 12 day cruise booked and to have to isolate for 10 days seems almost like cruising from my living room with YouTube. It also seems confusing about testing once in isolation since PCR tests can remain positive for longer than you are considered contagious. What has been the isolation experience? If no symptoms, only 5 days? If symptoms it would seem longer but how long if no fever.?

 

I wish good luck to those who have returned home to new challenges. 

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.

1 hour ago, deec said:

I would so like to be in a Viking focus group!!!  what other things were discussed?  Included gratuities?  Slow walkers group for Ocean excursions?

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).  

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Michelle - I am wondering if it is up to the ship's captains as to whether they announce any Covid positives.  I've seen it both ways.  Just recently we were on an Ocean and River Cruise back to back.  Both captains did not announce.  When asking people on the ship with Viking, they declined to comment.  So, sometimes it is hush hush, and sometimes they do say.  Seems I've heard less that actually announce the positives.

I would expect Viking to want to keep it quiet, since from various media sources, the numbers of quarantines, and in river cases, the numbers of those walking the plank, have skyrocketed to the point that Viking is definitely having a harder time with limited staff, managing and coordinating all their passengers in various hotels, rearranging flights, and more.  Likely several full time jobs to do all this.  Don't think they were expecting such a huge number of positives on their ships, given you had to have a negative test to board.  Maybe this shows how easy it is to get it on flights and airlines, as well as when mingling, wandering around foreign towns, and the close quarters at meals and happy hour times especially on the river ships.

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.

6 hours ago, whitbob said:

Can someone confirm the availability of shuttle buses to town for the ports on the British Isle cruises.  We are working on excursions for an August 2022 trip now, and I have read elsewhere on CC that Viking provides shuttles.

Does Viking supply shuttles (in addition to the optional tour excursions) to access the port town when NOT walking distance from the ship?

Is there a cost for shuttles?  And can you pay with shipboard account, or do you need local currency?

Thank you for your help?

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.
 

11 hours ago, longterm said:

We’re on day 10 of this trip, and so far, 8 people have tested positive out of the original 25. In each case they had to leave the tour, with traveling partners, so out of 25, plus our original guide who got it, we’re down to 12.. 

 

We did two Viking cruises recently—in December and March—without incident, but Viking doesn’t announce positive cases, so we don’t know if anyone quarantined on the ships. 

Would we do this trip knowing this might happen? Even though we’ve had a great time, no. My brother and his wife are among those left behind, and it felt awful to drive away. 
 

Would we do another ocean cruise now, having had this experience? Yes, but we’d probably limit our contact with others. 
 

We had dinner last night with the husband who tested positive this morning (voluntary self-tested); we’re hoping we’ll not get sick, but it seems to be a a total crapshoot. 

But, huge props to Rick Steves Europe for helping us through all this. 

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.  

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

AND, if you decide to arrive a day or two early for the pre-cruise, you still have to get yourself from the airport to the pre-cruise hotel, even if you have gotten your flights through Viking.

 

 

 

 

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.

10 minutes ago, TravlingGato said:

We are stuck with paying $200. each for airport PCR tests. just to assure our arrival in Canada. We have scheduled a less than 48 hour test window based on the unreliability of air transport schedules.  ByTheWay---have received no info from Viking about coping with Viking-booked  airline schedule changes at the airport or with the connecting airport.  Our long-experienced travel agent has been more than patient in dealing with Viking frustrations.  So far this is our worst travel experience in 30 cruises, and we aren't even on the ship yet.

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.

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Haha!! we'll work on him for you during the 4-months on Neptune.😁

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!

7 hours ago, deec said:

and even better...I had a Keen fail and our room steward had the carpenter shop wood glue the sole back on and the shoes lasted me the rest of our journey!!!

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!

On 5/18/2022 at 12:29 PM, wine-wine-wine said:

Thanks! We'll be on the South America & the Chilean Fjords cruise on December 18. Can't wait!

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

No more than a few days, normally one.

26 minutes ago, Kamfish642 said:

We just returned from a Viking river cruise (Grand European Tour).  We got PCR test 72 hours prior to our departure flight, but Viking rep didn't even ask to see results when we arrived at pre-cruise excusion hotel in Prague.  He simply gave up tubes for a PCR spit test the following morning.  Upon arrival at longship in Budapest, Viking administered an antigen test before allowing us to go to our stateroom.  Viking then required daily PCR spit test for the 1st week and then every other day during the 2nd week.  Viking administered a antigen test the day before departure to meet US entry requirements; however, neither the airline or US Customs asked for test results.  

 

Four people tested COVID positive during cruise (all I believe were asymptomatic), resulting in 8 people (4 couples) being denied boarding or removed during cruise.

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.