Iceland's Natural Beauty General - 2022

[Cruiser1854]

2 minutes ago, DJVKN said:

Hi Anne, we are arriving on Jun 29th for our Jul 3rd cruise. We arrive at 6: 40 am. I contacted the hotel where we are staying in inquire about quarantining at the hotel and we are able to do so. We are not paying for the previous night and they will have a room available for us.

I don't know what hotels are making you pay for another night before you arrive. I am a cautionary person in generalizing statements such as "hotels are advising to book the night prior... Unless you have contacted your hotel and know they will not allow you to quarantine or arrive early I think a broad statement misleads people.  If your hotel does require you to pay for the previous night you may wish to explore other hotels who do allow you to quarantine or arrive early. There is a link to that list that I posted on one of the roll calls or you can google it. Hope this helps.

Diana

Hi Diana,

What hotel are you using?  I have already contacted 3.  We are on the July 20 sailing.

Thanks,

Anne

[DJVKN]

Just now, Cruiser1854 said:

Hi Diana,

What hotel are you using?  I have already contacted 3.  We are on the July 20 sailing.

Thanks,

Anne

Hotel Borg in the city center.

 

[Dukefan]

1 hour ago, jtwind said:

Yes, flawed.  Going to the cruise terminal and possibly exposing other passengers before the airport test comes back?  Plus, I think that would be against Iceland's rules, right?

How is this different from what you are experiencing in today wherever you live. 100% of the people you pass on the street or in a grocery store have not been vacinated or even tested for the virus.   If you are traveling to Iceland according to their rules there is a good chance that most of the folks arriving have been vacinated and are still being tested.  They are required to be masked and to practice social distancing in getting to their quarantine location where they are required to stay until they get their test results back.    I, for one, think Iceland has a very good and reasonable system in place.  When you really think about it, don't you?

[Dukefan]

12 minutes ago, DJVKN said:

Hotel Borg in the city center.

 

We are on the July 10th cruise but we are also staying at the Hotel Borg before going to the ship.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dukefan

[SantaFe1]

everything is probably going to change on June 1.  Here is what Iceland Air says, although I don’t know how it is going to apply to Americans:

What do future border regulations look like (from June 1, 2021)

From June 1, Icelandic border controls will depend on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control color coding.

The 'traffic light' approach will be applied, with different requirements for arriving passengers from countries categorized as green,* orange or red.

Passengers from low-risk countries will be exempt from quarantine and a second screening if they can provide proof of a negative PCR test prior to departure.

For arrivals from countries coded as red (or grey), the current arrangements will remain in place (2 tests upon arrival, with 5-6 days of quarantine between tests).

Passengers from orange and green countries will be allowed into Iceland with a negative COVID test performed before departure, and a single test upon arrival at the Icelandic border, with no quarantine or second test to follow. 

Recovered COVID patients and the vaccinated will remain exempt from testing.

• green if the 14-day notification rate is lower than 25 cases per 100 000 and the test positivity rate below 4%;

 

 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, jtwind said:

Yes, flawed.  Going to the cruise terminal and possibly exposing other passengers before the airport test comes back?  Plus, I think that would be against Iceland's rules, right?

 

Friends, I apologize for feeding the troll. I should have known better.

 

 

 

[Dukefan]

26 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

• green if the 14-day notification rate is lower than 25 cases per 100 000 and the test positivity rate below 4%;

 

 

Interesting,  I believe (and I am not sure) that the data I have seen has the USA notification rate at around 10 cases per 100,000 and the test positivity rate at around 2.5%.    If this is the case, then if I am reading this correctly the test at the airport for vacinated visitors from the US would no longer be required.   Could someone confirm my understanding of both the US numbers and my interpretation of these potential new rules?

 

If this is correct vacinated folks from the US would not have to test or quarantine on arrival and therefore be free to tour before getting on the ship including going to the Blue Lagoon.    That would be very good news for all of us!

[MarkTapley]

30 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Friends, I apologize for feeding the troll. I should have known better.

 

 

 

You, of all people, have no need to apologize.  

[SantaFe1]

That’s why I posted this.  I wanted to see what our numbers are and what others thought.  I think this is a way around Iceland’s problem of being overwhelmed by the airport testing.  Yes, this is what I am hoping for, too, and very very good news.  But, we shall see.

[Dukefan]

5 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

That’s why I posted this.  I wanted to see what our numbers are and what others thought.  I think this is a way around Iceland’s problem of being overwhelmed by the airport testing.  Yes, this is what I am hoping for, too, and very very good news.  But, we shall see.

Well it is not as good of news as I orginally thought.   I found the US's current test positity rate and it was not 2.5% like I thought I remembered seeing but it is currently 7.6% probably putting the US in the orange group.

[SantaFe1]

Too bad!  But we are headed down, and another five weeks until the first cruise.  I just don’t think Iceland wants to continue to expend the time and money to test all vaccinated Americans.  There are a lot of us arriving daily!  I’ll have to go back and look up orange...

[Donaghadee]

11 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

Well it is not as good of news as I orginally thought.   I found the US's current test positity rate and it was not 2.5% like I thought I remembered seeing but it is currently 7.6% probably putting the US in the orange group.

Numbers that are out there are really funky.  This has been fairly reliable:

 

https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states/

 

Right in line with the 0.0007% that I posted yesterday.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Donaghadee

[SantaFe1]

Here is the full report.  But it is only about Europe.

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/situation-updates/weekly-maps-coordinated-restriction-free-movement

[Dukefan]

13 minutes ago, Donaghadee said:

Numbers that are out there are really funky.  This has been fairly reliable:

 

https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states/

Thanks, you have been helpful.   We are averaging about 10 cases per 100,000 population per day and the puts our 7-day average at 70 and our 14 day average at about 140.  This puts us in the red.  So my poor memory has moved us from Green to Orange to Red. It appears we now know that  USA 14-day notification rate at around 140 cases per 100,000 and the test positivity rate at around 7.6%.

 

The full table for coding if anyone is interested is:

green: if the 14-day notification rate is lower than 25 cases per 100 000 and the test positivity rate below 4%;

orange:  if the 14-day notification rate is lower than 50 cases per 100 000 but the test positivity rate is 4% or higher or, if the 14-day notification rate is between 25 and 150 cases per 100 000 and the test positivity rate is below 4%;

red: if the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate ranges from 50 to 150 and the test positivity rate of tests for COVID-19 infection is 4% or more, or if the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is more than 150 but less than 500;

dark red: if the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is 500 or more;

grey: if there is insufficient information or if the testing rate is lower than 300 cases per 100 000.

 

Maybe by the end of June or in July, we can make it to green or orange.

 

Thanks everyone for helping with this exercise.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dukefan

[Clay Clayton]

Thanks for bringing some excitement into my otherwise dreary existence....even if only for a few minutes until you had the correct figures which returned me to my normalcy. 😂 

[jtwind]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Friends, I apologize for feeding the troll. I should have known better.

 

 

 

Geez, guys.  Can you please post where Viking says that you can use the ship as your quarantine facility?

[emptyK]

19 minutes ago, jtwind said:

Geez, guys.  Can you please post where Viking says that you can use the ship as your quarantine facility?

Here are the quarantine housing guidelines: https://www.landlaeknir.is/um-embaettid/greinar/grein/item41241/appropriate-housing-while-in-quarantine

I think many are interpreting our ship as the "hotel/guest house" where we will quarantine since it meets all the criteria.

[jtwind]

2 hours ago, Dukefan said:

 I, for one, think Iceland has a very good and reasonable system in place.  When you really think about it, don't you?

Yes.  Great plan. That's why we're considering.  But I'm hoping to find out if letting people on the ship before the results from the airport test comes back (as someone suggested upthread) is really part of the plan?  Sure, you get a rapid test at the terminal.  And that might be enough.  But I bet Viking is counting on folks not showing up at the terminal before that 1st test comes back.  Maybe not.  Someone will hopefully post that info from a reliable source.

[eldercruser1]

48 minutes ago, jtwind said:

Geez, guys.  Can you please post where Viking says that you can use the ship as your quarantine facility?

You can't.  Everyone is assuming that is the case.  Also, My personal opinion is  management is hoping the June 1 Iceland announcement will be such that everyone arriving on embarkation day will be able to use the ship as there quarantine hotel, or that there will be no requirement to quarantine for vaccinated passengers.  The Reps are telling everyone that (including my TA) the ship will be our hotel.

 

As for us, we are going to wait until 30 days before departure (we are on the 17-24 July cruise) to see if all the various issues have resolved.  If they haven't, we'll cancel and apply our proceeds to our 2022 summer cruise before full payment is required.

Edited May 18, 2021 by eldercruser1
misspelled word.

[SantaFe1]

17 minutes ago, jtwind said:

But I bet Viking is counting on folks not showing up at the terminal before that 1st test comes back.  Maybe not.  Someone will hopefully post that info from a reliable source.

Viking is transferring people from the plane to the dock if they are on Viking Air the day of embarkation or purchased a transfer.  At that point people will have had the Iceland test.  Then at the dock, in a terminal or tent, Viking will administer its own test.  The Viking test result will probably come in first, 15 minutes to 4 hours, at which time we can board the ship to await the Iceland test, which at most that would be 24 hours.  But since we can’t get off the ship anyway, it doesn’t really matter if the Iceland test comes back in 4 hours or 24 hours.  All this per a Viking Customer Relations rep last week.  She spoke to me and my TA on a conference call.  She also said MVJ would be updated about all this closer to embarkation.  I haven’t seen it written anywhere.  But contact tellus, and see what they tell you if you want your own proof.  They will call you upon receipt of email.

Edited May 18, 2021 by SantaFe1

[Donaghadee]

1 hour ago, Dukefan said:

Thanks, you have been helpful.   We are averaging about 10 cases per 100,000 population per day and the puts our 7-day average at 70 and our 14 day average at about 140.  This puts us in the red.  So my poor memory has moved us from Green to Orange to Red. It appears we now know that  USA 14-day notification rate at around 140 cases per 100,000 and the test positivity rate at around 7.6%.

 

The full table for coding if anyone is interested is:

green: if the 14-day notification rate is lower than 25 cases per 100 000 and the test positivity rate below 4%;

orange:  if the 14-day notification rate is lower than 50 cases per 100 000 but the test positivity rate is 4% or higher or, if the 14-day notification rate is between 25 and 150 cases per 100 000 and the test positivity rate is below 4%;

red: if the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate ranges from 50 to 150 and the test positivity rate of tests for COVID-19 infection is 4% or more, or if the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is more than 150 but less than 500;

dark red: if the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is 500 or more;

grey: if there is insufficient information or if the testing rate is lower than 300 cases per 100 000.

 

Maybe by the end of June or in July, we can make it to green or orange.

 

Thanks everyone for helping with this exercise.

 

Today's numbers are a snapshot.  Look at the graphs.  Look at the trend line and extrapolate it to where it intersects the x axis, about mid-June.  Of course it'll never hit zero because viruses don't work that way.  Call it a realistic bottom, it just won't get much better for a long time. There will always be background cases of COVID floating around until it runs out of hosts.

[patchicago]

I would be very grateful to those of you cruising before my 8/3 sailing if you would learn what you can about communal dining tables while on your cruise. I’m traveling solo and am concerned that in their zeal to maintain physical distancing during meals there won’t be any shared tables for singles and I will be required to eat all meals alone. This is an not an issue in the WC but in specialty restaurants I’m not likely to find a random open seat at someone’s dinner table.
I don’t mind eating alone most meals but there are some times when I’m in the mood for company. so, keep an eye open for solo travelers and please share anything you learn. I hope you have a terrific time and are able to book all the excursions you want.

 

Thanks! Pat.

[Clay Clayton]

10 minutes ago, patchicago said:

I would be very grateful to those of you cruising before my 8/3 sailing if you would learn what you can about communal dining tables while on your cruise. I’m traveling solo and am concerned that in their zeal to maintain physical distancing during meals there won’t be any shared tables for singles and I will be required to eat all meals alone. This is an not an issue in the WC but in specialty restaurants I’m not likely to find a random open seat at someone’s dinner table.
I don’t mind eating alone most meals but there are some times when I’m in the mood for company. so, keep an eye open for solo travelers and please share anything you learn. I hope you have a terrific time and are able to book all the excursions you want.

 

Thanks! Pat.

Pat

Several of us on the first cruises have committed to doing a “live” thread.  Will certainly keep my eyes peeled and will ask when I’m aboard starting July 10th. 

[patchicago]

1 minute ago, Clay Clayton said:

Pat

Several of us on the first cruises have committed to doing a “live” thread.  Will certainly keep my eyes peeled and will ask when I’m aboard starting July 10th. 

Thank you. I saw the post about the “live “ thread and will be following it. I very much appreciate that those of you on early sailings are willing to share what you learn with the rest of us. It is damn nice of you!

[Clay Clayton]

6 minutes ago, patchicago said:

Thank you. I saw the post about the “live “ thread and will be following it. I very much appreciate that those of you on early sailings are willing to share what you learn with the rest of us. It is damn nice of you!

Just paying it forward!