jmfdr

On 6/7/2022 at 2:19 AM, 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. 

Good luck staying negative throughout the rest of your tour.  We were on a Rick Steves Ireland tour three weeks ago.  24 travelers.  Only one person tested positive, the day prior to departure. I was pleased that masks were required on the bus.  

On 5/14/2022 at 8:30 AM, -Lew- said:

Have you had an opportunity to listen to Viking Ocean Cruises Is NOT All I Thought It Was Podcast?  It is a segment of the Essential Cruise Tips Podcast by Gary Bembridge.

 

As someone who have not yet sailed with Viking...I will in fall 2023...I am interested in comments on what is said in the podcast.

Hi Lew,

We are on your Celebrity Edge, October 24 TA cruise. Fred and I  have been dedicated Celebrity cruisers for the last decade or so.

I have not listened to the podcast your referenced, so can't comment on that.  However, we  took our first Viking Ocean cruise last November (Central America, Panama Canal) and  are hooked.   We will stick with Viking Ocean in lieu of Celebrity cruises unless an itinerary arises we can't refuse.  There are so many reasons why we prefer the Viking sailings---I'm sure you have heard them all.  Primarily we enjoyed the emphasis on lecturers and learning, not really into big production shows nor casinos, enjoy  the lower density of cruisers, and the truly all-inclusive nature of the cruise.

What cruise do you have booked for fall 2023.  We have the October 24, 2023 Hong Kong to Bali cruise booked.

Jan

On 5/12/2022 at 7:13 AM, Jim_Iain said:

 

All good advise Bo.  

 

Curious if you could either send me privately or on this thread what type of insurance you have.   There are so many options out there and so many that have covid limitations. 

 

It would also be good for others to understand the changing policies of Celebrity and how the Certificate of Recovery (COR) can help minimize the impact or extended Positive Results. 

 

Out of an abundance of caution as we do not fly home for another 5 days (pre-planned) I applied and received a COR yesterday.  

Can you provide more information about a COR?  Thanks, Jan

We spent our 1963 honeymoon at the Empress in Victoria , just Seattle kids thinking how sophisticated we were enjoying an English high tea  in the late afternoon.   Today,  4 pm is almost time to usher in the cocktail, hour followed by  a 6 pm dinner.   

We have been on one Viking cruise,  November 2021,  and wondered why there was such a large area on the ship  given to the lovely Wintergarten, which seemed to be vacant every time we passed by.  We frequently found it a lovely quiet location to sit and read in the afternoon.  A couple times we noticed guest bringing their lunch  to eat in a quiet spot.  Admittedly, we did not try to visit the Wintergarten during afternoon teatime, so I really don't know if it was well attended.  From reports on this thread it seems as though the afternoon tea may be quite popular..

For us, an afternoon tea would mean giving up lunch or dinner----or just having a cup of tea without all the lovely scone and sandwich offerings.  (I would probably not be self disciplined enough to just drink the tea and forego all the goodies)  We tend to eat an early dinner which doesn't  fit well with tea goodies in the afternoon---especially if one has enjoyed a good lunch.  

I understand that there are many differing meal habits and am not trying to start a debate about the pros and cons of afternoon tea.   This is just my response to tea in the Wintergarten.  

We have only done two cruises with Viking ----more to come.  In both instances, I booked the cruise with Viking because I had many questions I felt might be best answered by the cruiseline.  I then transferred the booking to an agent I use at one of the large online cruise agencies.  The TA 's booking contract listed the maximum OBC as stretchcruz mentioned above.  Even though the bookings were now in the hands of my TA, I was able to go directly to Viking to book cruise pre and post extensions and to book flights.  This information was then transferred to my TA.  

4 hours ago, AnyWayIsGood said:

Understandable, at least at the present time. A significant % of Russian people, however, don't even want this war. SPB is well worth seeing. The Ukraine situation is reportedly (based on some surveys at any rate) affecting peoples' decisions to travel in Europe. 

Actually we have been to St. Petersburg and other parts of Russia---but quite a few years ago.  We were looking forward to returning to SPB.   

On 3/9/2022 at 5:28 PM, mhb1757 said:

We are booked on the 6/2 Russia and the Baltic. Viking has notified us that the cruise will happen but we will not be doing St Petersburg in 2022 (understandably). SPB was 3 full days of a 10 day cruise. So far no word on an alternate itinerary. SPB was the primary reason we booked this cruise so I’m thinking we might want to cancel and rebook something else. I guess I’m asking if anyone has a clue when they will let us know where they are taking us. 
Also has anyone canceled a Baltic cruise for this year?  Did Viking give you FCC? 

We cancelled our Russia and Baltic cruise for May 2023.  Even if St. Petersburg is open for tourists next year, I don't want to go to Russia anymore..  When cancelling, we rebooked a completely different itinerary with no fees from Viking or our TA.  After writing this I realize it does not answer your question about an FCC and cancelling in 2022.  Sorry.

Thanks for all the responses.  Yesterday we finally received our FCCs.  It took well over two months.  Our TA contacted Celebrity for us several days prior to receiving them.  Not sure if this helped get them processed or not.

Jan

22 minutes ago, 5waldos said:

We were told 45 days, starting beginning of Jan. And learned that it would be announced in an email to our TA. We had her call on day 45 as we had not heard. She finally got through and she had the email within an hour. No idea how long it would have taken if she hadn’t called. 

We  cancelled in early January.  After waiting for 60 days i contacted our TA.   Today  she talked with Celebrity who reported we would receive the FCC in a few more weeks.   We are hoping to apply it to a fall cruise before final payment is due.  Did you actually receive the FCC?

I think this topic has probably been covered many times——but asking again for current responses.

We cancelled a cruise well over two months ago under “Cruise with Confidence” and were told by our TA that it would take 60 days or more until our FCC was issued.  We have not yet seen it.  Does anyone have recent experience with receiving a FCC?

5 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

We’re D+ on Royal and just booked our first cruise on Celebrity which matches our status as Elite I think?

The cruise includes the Classic AI pkg, but as Elite will we get Happy Hour drinks that would allow more than say the $9.00 for a glass of wine?

I have no clue how this will work. Thanks.

I have not been on a Celebrity cruise since 2019 so there might be some changes.  In the past I am sure there was no wine on the Captain's Club Happy Hour menu that would have cost more than $9.00.  I don't believe the Happy Hour drink menu listed prices,   just the beverage available.   In my opinion the Happy Hour wine is not very good, yes free, but not good.  If we had the classic drink package I would always ask for the chardonnay off that menu rather than the  Happy Hour menu.  There was some difference.  I would often pay the up charge for a glass from the Premium menu.  

On 1/23/2022 at 4:55 PM, Australia08 said:

We did the Panama FLL to LA in November. We used the Walgreens ID Now (results in 24 hrs). We got our results in 1 hour. It is a NAAT test, or at least was when we took it. If you look at the departure from US ports on the documentation under the Resources Tab for your cruise, it says that NAAT tests are allowed. 

We also used this Walgreen's ID Now test (NAAT) for our Panama Canal/Central America cruise last November.  Fully acceptable for boarding at that time.

18 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Google "Command Strip Hooks" We also take a number of them with us. No damage on removal, even after 4 months.

Oh thanks for this great idea!  My husband's only complaint about our first Viking cruise in a DV cabin was no hooks.  Now we can remedy this.☺️

4 hours ago, Azulann said:

WE had 5111 in October under the infinity pool. We never heard any conversations when sitting on our balcony during the day or night. But we had only around 300 passengers and the pool never more that 6 people when we were eating lunch  on the deck outside WC.

We also had 4123, a DV1 aft cabin a floor below. We loved that one the best , but it was already booked when we booked our Oct cruise. Easy # to remember for bartenders and wait staff! LOL and had a little more sun some days. 

Thank you.  We have 4123 for a 2023 Viking Homeland cruise.  Nice to have a positive report.

On 12/18/2021 at 1:28 PM, CoolBeansVA said:

We had an aft DV1 cabin once, and it had a serious drawback:  with our balcony door open, we could hear everything going on at the infinite pool above us.  It was annoying.  

What floor were you on?

18 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

The Viking Sea did not have any fitness, yoga or meditation classes.  Just returned home.

Ditto on the Viking Star.

27 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

But pre-Covid, our experience was that twice when booking DVs, they eventually offered upgrades to PVs. When booking now, we haven’t wanted to risk it, since everything is topsy turvy and you never know if you’ll be offered an upgrade.  DVs are supposed to be better now though with the ships that are adding drawers in the closet. Our first DV did not have those and we left a lot of things in our luggage under the bed. That was my main peeve with a DV.

How do you find an upgrade offer from DV to PV?   We just booked a DV1 aft for a 2023 cruise but would trade it in an eye blink for a PV.

Just now, jmfdr said:

 

Thanks for the food responses.  My mouth is watering except for the lamb chops for 🤪breakfast.

On 11/22/2021 at 6:28 PM, Azulann said:

I suggest you try all  food venues. The Restaurant, or MDR , especially when they are open for breakfast. Try the grilled lamb chops  with your breakfast.  in the evening , it menu is  full of choices and I FIND THE FOOD EXCELLENT. Also the Wold Cafe,  or buffet. Check out  the   salads of the day or sandwich  of the day. But usually also get a couple of sliced baguette  bread  and some cheese and various sliced meats ... to go along with my salad.

Also try the pool grill. Love the Nordic hot dog, burgers and of course the onion rings.

 Then there is Mamsen's deli in the Explorer Lounge. Scandinavian fare : best waffles, for lunch  open face sandwiches and liverposti , hot with bacon  on the top. It is like a slice of meat loaf but oh so good. My grandmother used to make it for scratch  , grinding the meat first. Also they have  great dessert: Success cake is the best IMO.

Be sure to do a high tea in the Winter Garden, the most beautiful airy space on the ship. The scones,  clotted  cream, jam and small sandwiches  along with 19 different loose tea variations to choose from,  is a wonderful way to spend a hour in the late afternoon. Of  course there are the two alternative restaurants,  Manfredi, and Chef Table.

And last but not least,  room service  which we order  when go on  a morning excursion. It comes on time and is hot or cos  depending on what you order. Enjoy it on your balcony which has a real table height table for you meal.

Enjoy all these venues at various times of day. I love the variety of food and  always find something that is fabulous on every menu.

 

On 11/19/2021 at 3:12 PM, rbslos18 said:

One thing not mentioned which makes Viking a huge plus for us is having a Promenade walking deck. It is the only non-negotiable item for my wife.  Luxury is having a Promenade Deck to walk on. I arranged a few luxury line cruises without a Promenade Deck and will never do it again! I can choose any cruise line with only one stipulation. Viking makes this quite easy!  

Our first Viking cruise sails in a couple days.  That Promenade Deck was a real draw for us too.  We anticipate loving our first Viking cruise.  A bit worried about some  reports I read on CC of mediocre food?

Thanks everyone, for your responses.  

We depart on our first Viking ocean cruise on November 26.  When and how will we be notified of our boarding time?  There is nothing to indicate that on MVJ or that we have received in emails from Viking.  

9 hours ago, zelker said:

We don’t have CVS here in Colorado but we have Walgreens on about every corner, it seems.  Kinda like Starbucks.  

Anyway, testing at Walgreens is free.  Some Walgreens offer the BinaxNOW rapid test but here our only choice other than the PCR, which takes too long, is the ID Now rapid NAAT test which gets us results within 24 hrs.  They just today opened up appointments to be bookable 7 days out (it’s only been 3 days out since August) so a big improvement.  We sail on the 17th and I was just able to book our tests for the 15th.  👍 

 

Good luck!

Does Viking accept  Walgreen's ID NOW rapid NAAT test?  I spoke with Viking guest relations agent but he could not give me a specific answer about that test.   Our local Walgreens don't offer the binax now antigen test.

5 hours ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Many people are quoting the policy without having direct experience. We have brought a heating pad on Celebrity and Royal many many times. As recent as Edge July 2021. It was noted on the special needs form and the heating pad had automatic shutoff. Best regards 

I didn't know about a "special needs form" but will certainly look for it for our next cruise.  Thanks,

I never travel without a heating pad, including on cruises, in case of an IBS flare up and resulting pain.  On cruises, including Celebrity, I usually pack them in my check-in luggage, occasionally in the carry on.  About three times I have had to retrieve luggage from the "naughty room".   When I pull out the heating pad I have never been denied keeping it.  Mine does have an automatic shutoff.

1 hour ago, KBs mum said:

We also have problems getting results of PCR tests quickly, and booking them for when required. 

Domestically the lateral flow tests reporting through an app are the main ones used. 

I did not intend criticism of any countries testing policy, each should do whatever best suits them. I was commenting on the apparent reluctance to physically do the tests, which to those in my workplace is as routine as booking in deliveries, and a lot less hassle! 😁

Totally understand! 😊 i dont think Viking is accepting yet accepting the antigen (lateral flow tests?) through an app.