World Cruises and Covid

[ClevelandKid]

Hey you folks doing the world cruise (or extended cruises) - which unfortunately I am not part of.  I have been watching the countries Viking sails and some are doing very well with the virus and/or vaccinations, and well some - not so much.  Any word on how Viking might handle this?  I know the World Cruise is a really big deal for Viking, and I doubt they want to cancel it, but they may be doing some dancing to pull it off.

[Paul73]

Hi:  we're on the 2022-2023 world cruise.  Viking hasn't provided any guidance on COVID vaccinations yet.  The generic "Health and Safety" guidance that covers all cruises states that vaccinations may be required, but it's more focused on current sailings.   I agree it would be hard to pull off a world cruise without everybody being vaccinated.  For example, Australia and New Zealand are closed to cruise ships right now.  Israel is opening up for cruise visits in May BUT all crew and passengers will need to be vaccinated.  The current cruises to Bermuda and Iceland require vaccinations.  So we'll wait and see.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm not in the World Cruise game either, having cancelled one for 2021 and that window closed for us, permanently.  

 

I think one of the main problems will be those countries that are doing very well, infection-wise, but are completely closed and may not open for quite some period of time.  Obviously Australia and New Zealand are big ones in that category.

 

Then there are countries that are doing just okay, and which also are closed to tourism, like Japan, Canada, French Polynesia to name a few.  Not sure about SE Asia--I know much of that region is also doing very, very well with infection rates, and which might then choose to keep tourists out.

 

Then there's Europe, which obviously wants tourist badly and is willing to open up to some nationalities who are vaccinated.

 

So it's one great muddle, isn't it?  Can't see it working any time soon.

[Heidi13]

On 4/28/2021 at 5:39 PM, ClevelandKid said:

Hey you folks doing the world cruise (or extended cruises) - which unfortunately I am not part of.  I have been watching the countries Viking sails and some are doing very well with the virus and/or vaccinations, and well some - not so much.  Any word on how Viking might handle this?  I know the World Cruise is a really big deal for Viking, and I doubt they want to cancel it, but they may be doing some dancing to pull it off.

 

A great question, but at this time, I'll suggest nobody can provide a definitive answer, not even Viking. The 21/22 World Cruise is still about 9 months from sailing and much can change in that timeframe.

 

My best guess, is that Viking, and probably all cruise lines, are currently focussed on a return to service for as many ships as possible. The priority should be ensuring a safe environment for the initial cruises, as any spread of COVID onboard will have a significant negative impact on future cruises.

 

Once the industry is back to some semblance of normal operation, then I suspect cruise lines will start to focus on the 2022 World Cruises/Grand Voyages. In addition to vaccination requirements, COVID protocols, etc they also have to resolve the itienerary for the current skirmish taking place in Burma.

 

Even putting a timeline to possible decisions is well-nigh impossible, as it is highly dependent on the results of the "Welcome Back" cruises. 

[vslparis]

We are on the 2022 WC and not even worrying about where we might be going as it is months and months away. Things are changing rapidly in the cruise world and the world in general that it could make us nuts just thinking about it.

All I know for sure is that we are experiencing our first cruise in 13 months as we are sailing on the Mississippi right now ( obviously not on Viking 😉).  Reading some of the experiences of those who did the same trip about 3 weeks ago and our experiences right now in regard to procedures shows me how things are adapting .

 I also am in awe of the towboat captains that maneuver the large number of  barges  along the river  !