SailorPaulH

Tayana thank you. It took a while but I got through to insurance company. That's likely our best route - less hectic for decision making, and better than the constraint of using a voucher on a cruise by the end of 2022 that we may not be able to go on anyway (or even want to go on). That way there might even be a shot at going on our cruise in 2023 or 2024. If we are lucky, we can still go in a couple of weeks - doc appointment tomorrow 😜. I am blessed to only have such problems as just a messed up trip .....

Thank you Tayana - I indeed have option 2 via insurance and that would be a reimbursement of appropriate $$$, I believe? I wasn't able to get through to insurance company yet - I don't even know what the deadline is for that (24 hours before first flight??). Thanks for the help all - this is first time I have been in all of a sudden potential cancellation situation. Lower back nerve impingement (we think) is no joke.

Thanks all for input - I finally got through to Viking. I can indeed use the value of my cruise as a future voucher (my particular RFG guarantee indicates it must be a cruise before end of 2022) and I have a few more days to make that decision (and find an alternate cruise). I guess I can still book the one we really wanted to go on for 2024 - then it will 5+ years of waiting for that one! 😜

Please some VOC veteran help me with this question. I am having hard time getting through to call numbers and Live Chat. We have a medical situation come up that may - but hopefully may not - require us to cancel a July 2 - 18 VOC cruise. Either way, we don't have much time to decide. First flight = June 30, Last flight = July 20 (deviations done through Viking Air Plus). This cancelation would be of a cruise booked through a voucher that came from our original July 2021 cruise that was canceled by Viking due to Covid-19. When we rescheduled we received the 'Risk-Free Guarantee - Temporary Cancelation Policy'. Looking at this , it appears we must cancel at least 14 days prior to the date of flight departure (for flights arranged by Viking) and then we will get a Voucher for 100% actual monies paid to be applied to a future cruise to be booked within 24 months. Am I right? If I am understanding this correctly I have until June 15 to cancel and make this happen? Additional note: We do have Viking TripMate coverage also.

Viking web-site update: My Trip - Updates on Current Sailings (vikingcruises.com) "Additionally, Viking highly recommends, but no longer requires, a pre-departure COVID-19 test—unless one is required by the destination." It's over. "Please note that Viking is in the process of notifying guests about these changes to the Viking Health & Safety Program, as well as updating specific requirements for all voyages across documents channels, including on MyVikingJourney.com. We expect that all relevant documents will be updated on June 14, 2022."

Just in time for you!

I have seen postings like this for other ships also. That removes a lot of hoops to jump through!

How many readers have already checked their MVJ to see if there was a change in the policies? LOL. The testing policy is based on the notion that the virus can be prevented - it's endemic, so that cannot be true. Viking cannot eliminate the potential for exposure, and I agree that the activities of a normal day of VOC cruising that you mentioned mean exposure is very possible. This week I went to a number of my work locations, a supermarket and a department store - all with more potential for exposure than a Viking ship or a Norwegian mountain-top, and I did not have to do daily tests to perform those functions.

Agree. Now, the only requirements on our upcoming trip are those of Viking. There is no reason to continue testing.

Glad to see you made it back OK, and belated thanks for your reports on your Med cruise that gave us ideas for our own future plans. Here is a question for you, though: have you ever tested positive previously? If so, I believe there is a strong possibility (that in combination with being vaxxed/boosted) you are resilient to the currently circulating more infectious but less dangerous variants. I, personally, don't know anybody that got COVID twice when they are vaxxed (I concede that it is possible, but I believe it is relatively rare), so the natural immunity factor is protective, IMO. I know everyone's immune system is unique, but my own experience is that I have been exposed to COVID positives a number of times since last October when I had Delta, but tested negative each time, so my primary concern on upcoming trip is running afoul of a false positive. I am not afraid of getting COVID or acting as a conduit for someone to get if from me, but I will act safely and responsibly (masking in airports, flights and certain crowded indoor settings), and hope for the best.

My wife uses this system on me 🤪

Same for me: CVS in April --- "SARS-COV-2 RNA, QL NAAT, RT PCR/TMA (COVID-19)"

What we need are cruises for fully vaxxed AND previously infected passengers 😜 - I would bet there would be little to no positives on such cruises. I think the most vulnerable are those without a prior infection and that is the population that is the remaining primary vector for spread, but time will tell.

I don't understand - if you just had COVID recently, why can't you just get a letter of recovery? Testing positive for months after an infection is not unusual.

From their site - for the drive through testing it states their PCR test is a lab test and 'meets pre-travel testing requirements: COVID-19 Testing | Select Location | Walgreens CVS says the same for their drive-through PCR Lab Test.

I scoured Viking web-site and can't find answer to a couple of questions: What time does the Bar open in the Living Room (Deck 1) open in the morning? (The word is this is the place to get great coffee in the morning) What are the opening times of the Fitness Center? Thanks.

I am in agreement with Rizello with this one. I can't speak for other people but if I had symptoms I would get a test and self-quarantine as required. My wife and I both work in health and health/fitness fields and we have not encountered anybody who has caught covid more than once who was fully vaccinated (I concede the possibility of exceptions) so my own take on the current situation is that Covid positives on board are first-timers or what concerns me (fully vaxxed and covid positive in the past) the most: false positives (with no re-test recourse). Also, I have seen nothing to suggest that passengers are statistically in any great danger. I see stories of dozens of people being removed (or quarantined) from many cruises on Ocean and River, but I do not see associated hospitalizations or fatalities associated with those actions. I, sincerely, believe it's time to move on.

For our non-Viking Iceland extension, we booked tests at covidtest.is

I keep seeing references to The Site That Must Not Be Named, and have no idea what it is (and nor will I as you can't tell me, LOL).

Same with us - we have abandoned our intentions of a VRC and another VOC in 2023/24. There are comparable cruise lines if we want, and we have devised some nice ideas for the next year or two - a ring-road trip in Iceland; road-tripping in the Faroe Islands and a vacations by rail in Switzerland/Austria. That being said we enjoyed our previous VRC and hope to enjoy our upcoming VOC and hope it's not a "Be Anxious: Explore the World in Quarantine" rebranding exercise.

I have tried to find an answer to this on CC, but so far no luck. Hopefully a VOC vet can help me out. We want to try the Chef's Table restaurant on our first VOC cruise, but one of us has a shellfish allergy. Shellfish seems to be a common course in most of the sample CT menus I have seen. Is there an option for an alternative provided or is it an 'out of luck' situation and best to go to another restaurant? Thanks.