Alan2504

Well we are still in Malta on the Sea no sail away tonight I guess we will still be here in the morning too  Captain announced that there were operational issues that needed to be resolved?

I know the ship is fine from being on her for the last 10 days maybe the Greek authorities or the attitude to risk in Greece has changed?

Will report back when we get some clarity 😀

We are just so happy to be on board and know Viking will look after us whatever befalls us 

A relaxing dinner tonight 😎

On 7/29/2021 at 8:27 PM, JeriGail said:

Would you be able to post a photo of the officers on the Sea?  I'm wondering who's onboard.

2 hours ago, jsam949 said:

That’s awesome! Good for you guys! I’ll be boarding the Viking Sea Saturday evening! Have you heard anything about the excursions in Greece? Any idea if they are going to allow us to shop and wander around on our own like they are now allowing in Croatia? 

The agreement seems only to be with the Croatian authorities, but things are constantly under review and may change?

46 minutes ago, FirstTimeFreddy said:

Alan are you doing back to back cruises? I'm so jealous 🙂

Yes, we had planned a week post cruise in Malta to cover the old amber regulations for quarantine, when things changed, and since we were enjoying our Viking Sea experience so much we decided to cancel our hotel, rearrange the flights and stay on board for the next one 😎

13 hours ago, jsam949 said:

Are you staying on the Viking Sea for the Malta & Greek Isles cruise that begins on July 31st? I recall you also saying there will be roughly 430 guests on board the next cruise… is this the one you are referring to?

Yes, that's the one, looks like the guest numbers will be around 400 according to recent crew comments, but I have heard figures from 350 to 450 being mentioned by various members of crew, be nice to have few more cruisers on board😎

Sibenik sailaway  through the St Ante Channel 😎

Sibenik today 

Video didn't work too well dancers are in the shade but the music can be heard

Zadar today a lovely welcome from the locals, traditional dancing and music

Again I've made an attempt to do the daily 

Today we remembered to check our tour tickets and yes, our 10:35 is now 9:40 😀

Our next cruise on the Viking Sea will have around 450 happy cruisers on board 😎

Today we are in Split, not sure how good the result will be but I tried to do today's daily ? 🙃🙃

On the subject of shore excursions, the times you have booked online may change,we got caught out this morning, our 10:35 tour got switched to 9:40 so when you get on board check the times on the actual tickets! 🙃

7 hours ago, CLBSC said:

8/23 Cruise: We have scheduled an early morning wall walk tour in Dubrovnik. Hoping it won't be too hot.

Good thinking, our walking tour started after 10 and ended at around 12:30ish 

By the end the temperatures were up about 31 deg C, the walls are great hike !

You'll deserve a good lunch after that 😄

8 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

Would any of you “pioneers” be willing to post the Viking Daylies while on board? Or even photograph them and upload when you’re home? 

We're are in a port intensive couple of days I'll give it a try when I can 😎

Another fantastic day in Dubrovnik great walking tour small group only 7 city was was full of life but only the Viking Sea in port so not over run by cruisers but lots of people on "game of thrones" tours

Overall happy with the Viking Covid protocols which protect the ship and crew so much so we cancelled a land based post cruise stay in Mal[a and booked the next cruise 😎

Well we sailed of Kotor tonight a wonderful sailaway so I wouldnt book a specialty  dining option before 8 better still eat outside at World Cafe and just soak in the wonderful views 😎

Arrived in Kotor this morning,we did the walking tour of the old city, our guide was excellent and entertaining, we did this mid-morning and lasted nearly 2 1/2 hrs.

To maintain the "bubble" of the ship as much as possible we were required to wear masks and your personal locator.

No free time to shop or browse independently, but we were aware of these restrictions at the time of booking.

We have been in Kotor before but even with the restrictions on our tour we seemed to get so much more out of it, I guess we didn't have the distraction of the usual "we recommend shop A or shop B" or "this my cousins shop" etc etc.

Did miss not being to go off on your own but we knew this to be the case and accept Vikings reasoning behind it.

All in all having a fantastic time so much so we are pretty close staying on for the next cruise😎

7 hours ago, Eround said:

Are you using the Verifly App on your mobile phone? If so, you can take a picture of the vaccination card when you get to that place on the app or you can take a picture of the card and upload it to the app.

We too ,were asked to use VeriFly and upload our details and vaccination certification, I have a feeling this is used by Viking to capture the vaccination details pre-cruise, as we were never asked to show our VeriFly pass by the Maltese authorities or during the checking in process pre-boarding

OK I guess mask wearing is an issue with some ? If you are on an open deck there is no requirement also if you are eating or drinking  no requirement to wear a mask only when you are moving around inside the ship. The only time you kinda can get caught is usually the transition from open deck to inside but you get the hang of that after a day ot two .

Service on board is outstanding the crew are just so happy to see you and engage with you.

The main restaurant food has been exceptional we have couple of bookings in the specialty restaurants coming up soon, had no problems getting reservations on embarcation day.

Finally at sea on the Sea tonight nice to feel that familiar rock and rolling once again 😎

40 minutes ago, rizello said:

Agree that these updates are extremely helpful.  Really appreciate the info on the Malta airport.

 

I am wondering about an ATM at the Malta airport.  I assume there is one?  Will probably need to replenish my supply of euros for miscellaneous items.  

Yes there are ATMs at the airport see

https://www.maltairport.com/passenger/services/banking/

The one I remember is before baggage reclaim

Just a quick comment on arriving in Malta Airport, it is extremely well organised, passport control is first, then pick up your bags, then the health check where you need a printed copy of your online  passenger locator details (if you haven't done this they still let you fill one in manually) and your proof of vaccination,  when we arrived the process took about 20mins and the Viking reps were everywhere  directing you to your transport to the ship which was about another 20mins 

Well the Viking Sea "prison ship" We boarded today is terrific, OK there are restrictions but we knew of them so no surprises there, We were told that there only 171 guests on board so currently outnumber guests. And boy what a welcome you get from the crew and how you are looked after, even more outstanding than usual 

 I hope so too, maybe some technical issues? All going well we pickup the Viking Sea tomorrow hopefully 😀

Will not over promise but will try and post here and there 😎

2 hours ago, les37b said:

In the UK site, Viking have now pulled the Malta cruises from July and they now start at the beginning of August.

 

Has anyone with bookings for the Adriatic 21 or 24 July or Greek 31 July been told anything? This Iceland ones on the UK site have also been removed 

 

They've only been pulled on the UK site. They are still showing on the US site so US may sail with even less than the 14th Sailing (at 167 !!)

 

 

My understanding the 21st of July cruise was promoted as  a 11th to 31st July cruise and similarly the one the left on the 14th so essentially back to back cruises.

Considering these cruises have commenced I think it unlikely they will cancel the 21st and 24th segments, but in these weird and wonderful times who knows !

Anyway it looks like those lucky cruisers on the Viking Sea have Santorini to themselves so far 

Live Cam Santorini (skylinewebcams.com)

😎