longterm

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.

We were on a post-exension in Athens in late March; Viking arranged a PCR test at the hotel, and all of us (about a dozen or so) were tested (and all negative) at the hotel, no cost. HOWEVER... we're on a Rick Steves tour right now in the Loire valley; so far, 2 women have tested positive in our group of 25. The first woman and her husband had to stay behind in Chinon, and will stay in a hotel for 5 days, at which point they'll have to test negative in order to return to the US. Today, another woman tested positive, so she and her husband will test again; if either are positive, they'll remain here in Sarlat for 5 days until they test negative. The Covid pandemic is NOT over. My wife and I were talking about whether the risk of infection is higher on a Viking ocean ship than on this Rick Steves tour; the only difference is that on our last ocean cruise we didn't have dinner with other couples, and here we've dined several times with other couples. Although a Viking cruise has more people, contact with others is generally less, I'd guess, unless you have dinner or drinks often with other couples (which is how it's apparently spread among our little group here). On a very positive note, Rick Steves has a policy where he refunds your tour fee for every day of your tour that you miss. First-class; I wish Viking took that approach.

We did a bridge tour on our first river cruise, back in November 2019, but on the last 2 ocean cruises, I was told that they weren't offered or available. I'd love to see the bridge of an ocean ship, but can certainly understand why they're no longer offered to passengers.

We've taken 2 Viking cruises in the past 6 months; on the first, we had dinner with another couple, and the woman voiced her idiotic opinions out of the clear blue. But then, as luck would have it, another couple we'd met, and with whom we'd had discreet political discussions, walked up, and the husband immediately started telling us about the people he'd just dined and argued with about politics. Then, on our latest cruise in March, a man in one of our excursion groups loudly proclaimed his allegiance to a particular faction, only to find that the tour guide's favorite US president was one he certainly didn't care for. I laughed and applauded. We don't go on cruises to debate/argue politics; we go to have fun.

Mary and I will be headed to Rome on Monday to start our trip to Italy and points beyond. We'll spend 4 nights in Rome, then board the Viking Sky on the 5th; we'll sail to Greece, where we're doing the 4-night extension there as well. Today I started looking at Covid testing that will be required; here's what we're going to have to do: 1. Take PCR tests on Saturday, 2 days before flying to Rome; 2. Take rapid tests in the Rome airport (this is according to Viking's info); 3. Take PCR tests on March 3rd so that we can board the ship on the 5th; 4. Take tests on board on the 5th. This, of course, doesn't include the 14 subsequent tests we'll take each day while on board, or the final test we'll take before we leave Athens. Lots of tests, but no big deal, and our trip will be well worth it. Thanks to CCWineLover, I was able to schedule our PCR tests in Rome for March 3rd. The clinic is about 15 minutes from our hotel, and the cost is 55 euros each (ouch). The site says results will arrive from 24-48 hours--I'm hoping less than 24, but we'll just have to see. Results here in Texas arrived in about 10 hours when we took our December cruise to the Caribbean. A Viking rep had a great suggestion for finding a clinic; he recommended calling the Rome Marriott, where Viking pre-extensions stay, and asking the Viking rep there for help with booking tests. Because we had the link (below), we didn't need to do that, but it was a good suggestion. The rep also confirmed that we needed PCR tests if we're doing it 48 hours out. We used this link to book our tests: http://www.altamedica.it/ https://www.covidtestfinder.net/test_centers/italy/rome/altamedica-artemisia-rome-708

Having been a Nespresso user for almost 20 years, I was really happy to see that the machines in the staterooms are the very same mini Nespresso machines that I own and take on trips when I travel in the US. They're set to dispense full cups of coffee as opposed to espresso-sized pours, but it's really simple to reset that: Once the machine is heated and ready to use, simply push AND HOLD DOWN one of the two buttons; when your cup is at the level you prefer, let go of the button. That sets the machine to pour that amount of coffee each time. Very useful! Also, if you prefer a weaker or stronger coffee blend, head to Nespresso's site (www.nespresso.com) and order some boxes of original coffee pods; I always bring my favorites with me (Roma) when I get on a Viking ship.