rbslos18

My advice is for each individual to discuss their unique health situation and experiences with COVID with their physician. Ones personal history and the current variants need to be considered. If you have access to an epidemiologist, you will get great advice. The advice I have received is to get a second bivalent shot pre-cruise; to wear a mask on the plane; to take a few spare masks and to above all have a good time.

I agree we should not expose others when we are sick. If I had a virus or infection I would self-quarantine. I’m struggling with where to draw the line as far as testing. If I am feeling sick enough to test, I should isolate regardless of what type of virus or the test says.

At this point, over two years since the original vaccinations were offered, Viking’s policy requiring just the original two vaccinations is of little effectiveness. Only 18% of eligible people received the bivalent booster. People seem unaware of the latest booster or overconfident on their level of immunity. We just got our second bivalent shot (available for those over 65) in preparation for our July cruise. We aren’t taking COVID tests with us or anti-viral medication.

Andy, your advice and explanations have helped us navigate to Viking from Princess. We have done one cruise and have four cruises booked. But I am very concerned by how you and others have been treated. Yes, the onboard experience is outstanding, but unless the Customer Service on land improves, we too will migrate elsewhere. Given the premium price we pay, we expect, excellent customer support. It seems Viking has lost touch with its roots. What cruise line are you considering?

I have a few questions on transfer options. 1) Is it hard to get a taxi on noon on a Sunday? What is the cost 2) Does anyone have a transfer car service to recommend? Thx

Which menus would be suitable for pescatarians --vegetarians who eat fish? Thanks

Viking Newbies: In summation: You can wear a thong (meaning determined by country of origin) to the World Cafe but not The Restaurant. Please leave the pooch at home UNLESS a trained, certified-service dog. And sorry if we can’t quote a price for sending thongs (of any kind) to the ship laundry. But it should come back within two days. OR use the free laundry machines with free thong-safe detergent.

This exchange illustrates the complexity of the issue. Different countries use different terminology some of which may be unintentionally offensive to others. Even within a country there may be different definitions. The term “service animal” means different things to different people. Try and convince a person their emotional support pet is not a service animal. It will be interesting to see how Viking navigates this issue.

Dear Viking, Fear not! A simple online search of “service animals on cruise ships” finds plenty of well-thought out, robust policies other cruise lines have developed over the years. There are advantages to being one of the newer ocean cruise lines. My advice—Copy, paste and reword. It will take less time to develop this policy than it took to read these 287 posts. Viking—You’ve got this! Thanks, RB

Service animals have a year or more of training. They enable their owners to be safe and function. By law they must be allowed in public places in the US. I have observed their training, am awestruck, and donate funds to enable their training. What these animals do is amazing. One dog, I regularly see, knows 83 commands. We are not allowed to go near her without the owner’s permission. Emotional service animals do not require any training. In the US they are not required admission in public places. One can send away for an ESA certificate but then again anyone can become an ordained clergy person in the US for $100.00, maybe less. Animals on a bed will be a disaster for asthmatics allergic to animal dander.

Agreed. I find the need to label Viking and other cruise lines peculiar. Labels for us are meaningless. We initially tried Viking out of curiosity and an interesting itinerary. Whether it was or is not a “luxury” experience never crossed our minds. Our first Viking cruise, we wanted a responsible COVID policy (2021), Promenade Deck, modern ship, interesting itinerary and good food. We just label the experience Viking. Arguing over labels can be exhausting!

We have experienced the premium and luxury lines. Yes, in the luxury lines the gratuities were included. We’ve even had butlers. Yet, we find Viking, the non-luxury, luxury experience, preferable to the luxury, gratuities-included lines. It’s very subjective. We found the Viking ships to be more modern and spacious, and the service and food to be better. Luxury is in the eyes of the beholder.

True. But travel insurance sure comes in handy when contracting COVID, especially in a foreign country or on a ship. Our bills for a mild case were a couple of thousand dollars in Prague last summer. Everything was covered including a private transfer to Berlin.

The debate over which line is better is typically unproductive. The real question is which line is best for me and my unique needs and likes. It is kind of like marriage. My wife says I’m a good guy. We have been married for 46 years. But I am confident I would likely be a disaster married to other people, most of whom are wonderful. Our process began by listing our must haves and then reading various Boards and reviews. We tried a luxury line and it wasn’t for us. That doesn’t mean the line isn’t great; only that it wasn’t great for us. For us, Viking checked a lot of boxes—great food for a pescatarian, interesting itineraries, beautiful-modern cabins, comfortable bed, a wrap-around Promenade Deck, comfortable dress code, interesting lectures and a ship whose layout and size enable us to escape the limelight of work.

Everyone will have different experiences based on their needs and perceptions. We started cruising with Viking after 35+ cruises on four different lines including an ultra-luxury line which didn’t suit us. We cruise to get away and be together, relax, have good healthy food and to just be as invisible as we choose. Our first Viking cruise was outstanding. It wasn’t perfect (neither am I!) but it was a subtle, classy experience. We found the staff that cruise to be well-trained and willing to go above and beyond to please passengers. The food we had was excellent. We are pescatarians (no shellfish or dairy etc) and even the Chef visited our table twice to make sure our dietary needs were respected. The musicians were very talented and we are pretty discerning about music. The lectures were fine, but that may be a reflection of my interests. They were very well attended. We love Viking’s understated elegance. The ships are beautiful and very well built. Within a couple of days, staff knew our names and always greeted us. Their training is clearly outstanding. Yes, Viking isn’t perfect as the OP suggests and this Board shows. But for us after one cruise, Viking is largely a class act. We have booked four more Viking cruises.

Thank you for your compassionate response. If it were my parents, I too would have been in a state of panic. I hope in 2023 we will all be a tad more compassionate and a lot less judgmental. I include myself. Happy New Year and may we all have opportunities to cruise in 2023.

We will be flying into Madrid for a pre-cruise visit. Which Premium Economy do you prefer? Our best choices are: American (Dallas-Fort Worth to Madrid 787) Delta Premium Select (Atlanta to Madrid 767) Iberia (O'Hare to Madrid 330) Thx

When doing a pre-cruise extension (Madrid), is one required to use Viking Air? If not, does Viking still provide a transfer to the hotel? Thanks

We are doing the Eastern Seaboard from Montreal to NYC in July. The first two days are in Montreal. Since we are arranging our own air, we were wondering how late we can embark the first day in Montreal. Thanks

We are flying from Louisville to Montreal on Delta in July. One option is a 47 minute connection in DTW? Should I consider a different flight!? Thanks!

We are staying in Montreal two days pre-cruise. We are looking for a nice hotel with a restaurant in Old Montreal Thanks RB

Yes. Proud and true from Kentucky. Where’s my Woodford?!

Just in the nick of time for us! We were getting ready to cancel our next Viking cruise on Sunday and try a different line with more lenient policies. The testing while seemingly excessive was fine with us. Even the mandatory mask wearing didn’t bother us. But the risk of spending part of a vacation quarantined in a foreign country was too much stress. We are thrilled with Viking’s wise decision.

We were on the Sky in late December 2021. I was surprised by the condition it was in for a 7 year old ship. It was beautiful. A staff member told me it had just returned from drydock. The ship was immaculate.

I don’t believe it is always less expensive to purchase on one’s own. I do agree, especially during the pandemic, using a knowledgeable agent is crucial. I also use Steve at tripinsuancestore.com. It pays to have a trusted intermediary in the event of a claim. I would suggest you read the Cruise Critic Insurance Board.