Welcome Back Cruises 2021 - Malta & Adriatic Cruises and General Discussion

[JM0115]

Thought I would start this topic for those going on the Malta & Adriatic Cruise. I am sure others will start roll calls for particular cruises.

[Mrs Miggins]

We are in the UK and still have no information about these cruises - although they are mentioned in our cancellation email.  May be interested but need details obviously.

[CCWineLover]

This forum is for people to contribute and talk about the new Viking Malta cruises that were announced on May 6, as part of the expansion of the 2021 Welcome Back Cruises.   There are two itineraries leaving and returning to Valetta, Malta:   Malta & Adriatic Jewels and Matla & Greek Isles Discovery

 

Adriatic Jewels (Viking Sea and Venus):   July 1, July 14, July 21, July 24, Aug 3, Aug 10, Aug 13, Aug 23, Aug 30, Sep 2, Sep 12, Sep 19, Sep 22, Oct 2

Greek Isles Discovery (Viking Sea):   July 11, July 31, Aug 20, Sep 9

[CCWineLover]

Viking Expands Restart of Cruising with Two More Ships from Valletta

May 06, 2021

 

Viking announced today that it will restart operations in the Mediterranean with new ocean voyages for vaccinated guests beginning this summer, according to a press release 

The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will homeport in Valletta and sail two different 11-day roundtrip itineraries in the Mediterranean.

Guests on the new Malta & Adriatic Jewels itinerary will overnight in Valletta and then sail to Montenegro and Croatia, calling in Kotor, Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Šibenik, before returning to the Maltese archipelago, with a stop in Gozo and finally back to Valletta. Guests on the new Malta & Greek Isles Discovery itinerary will also overnight in Valletta and then sail to Greece, calling in Kalamata, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes and Souda Bay, before returning to Valletta.

The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will sail the itineraries between July and early October 2021. 

“We thank the government of Malta for its support and enthusiasm as we continue restarting operations,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “Malta is a fantastic destination, with ancient history, rich culture and a central location in the Mediterranean. We began calling in Malta in 2016 and look forward to welcoming guests back to some of the most historically significant and naturally beautiful areas of the Med—in both the Maltese archipelago, as well as along the Croatian coast, and around Greek islands this summer.”

 

Today’s news follows Viking’s recent announcements of Welcome Back ocean voyages in England, Iceland and Bermuda, beginning in May 2021. The company is actively working on developing additional Welcome Back itineraries in a variety of other destinations, with the goal of announcing further 2021 sailings as soon as government approvals are given.

Also, citing the result of strong demand, Viking also announced today it is adding more sailing dates this summer for its Welcome Back voyages around Iceland and Bermuda.

[CCWineLover]

Thanks JM0115 - had the same idea, and set one up too, so I'll let CruiseCritic know to remove mine or combine it with yours.   Looks like we won't be able to do Sep 22 like you have, as we have some conflicts.  Looking at late August.

 

Did you get any information from Viking or your TA on timing of inports, air cost, testing requirements, or other logistical items?

[CCWineLover]

Article in Cruise Industry News:

Viking Expands Restart of Cruising with Two More Ships from Valletta

May 06, 2021

 

Viking announced today that it will restart operations in the Mediterranean with new ocean voyages for vaccinated guests beginning this summer, according to a press release 

The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will homeport in Valletta and sail two different 11-day roundtrip itineraries in the Mediterranean.

Guests on the new Malta & Adriatic Jewels itinerary will overnight in Valletta and then sail to Montenegro and Croatia, calling in Kotor, Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Šibenik, before returning to the Maltese archipelago, with a stop in Gozo and finally back to Valletta. Guests on the new Malta & Greek Isles Discovery itinerary will also overnight in Valletta and then sail to Greece, calling in Kalamata, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes and Souda Bay, before returning to Valletta.

The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will sail the itineraries between July and early October 2021. 

“We thank the government of Malta for its support and enthusiasm as we continue restarting operations,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “Malta is a fantastic destination, with ancient history, rich culture and a central location in the Mediterranean. We began calling in Malta in 2016 and look forward to welcoming guests back to some of the most historically significant and naturally beautiful areas of the Med—in both the Maltese archipelago, as well as along the Croatian coast, and around Greek islands this summer.”

 

Today’s news follows Viking’s recent announcements of Welcome Back ocean voyages in England, Iceland and Bermuda, beginning in May 2021. The company is actively working on developing additional Welcome Back itineraries in a variety of other destinations, with the goal of announcing further 2021 sailings as soon as government approvals are given.

Also, citing the result of strong demand, Viking also announced today it is adding more sailing dates this summer for its Welcome Back voyages around Iceland and Bermuda.

[CCWineLover]

Here are the scheduled dates for the Malta Cruises:

 

Adriatic Jewels (Viking Sea and Venus):   July 1, July 14, July 21, July 24, Aug 3, Aug 10, Aug 13, Aug 23, Aug 30, Sep 2, Sep 12, Sep 19, Sep 22, Oct 2

 

Greek Isles Discovery (Viking Sea):   July 11, July 31, Aug 20, Sep 9

[JM0115]

12 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Thanks JM0115 - had the same idea, and set one up too, so I'll let CruiseCritic know to remove mine or combine it with yours.   Looks like we won't be able to do Sep 22 like you have, as we have some conflicts.  Looking at late August.

 

Did you get any information from Viking or your TA on timing of inports, air cost, testing requirements, or other logistical items?

CC: sorry I did not see your post there. I have not gotten any info on protocols for Malta yet but hope they are better than the ones for Bermuda! Sorry you can’t be on our cruise.

[JM0115]

Here are the ports and timing for the Malta Adriatic Cruise

[CCWineLover]

Just now, JM0115 said:

Here are the ports and timing for the Malta Adriatic Cruise

Thanks, JM!  Are you using Viking Air or doing your own air?

My wife only wants to go Business Class, so our TA is investigating whether Viking Air Plus will do that (they would not do that for the Bermuda and Iceland cruises).  I did some investigation and can get Business Class roundtrip out of SFO (San Francisco) for $2000 from United or Lufthansa.  Where are you going to fly out of ?

Kent

[CCWineLover]

I should also mention, we'll look forward to hearing about your trailblazing on the 1st Bermuda trip.  We go June 29th.

We can share information as well on other cruises.  I see you did Midnight Sun- we are scheduled for July 2022.  And you are scheduled for Homelands which we did a couple years ago.

Edited May 7, 2021 by CCWineLover

[Peregrina651]

31 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Did you get any information from Viking or your TA on timing of inports, air cost, testing requirements, or other logistical items?

 

(this is the collective wisdom of the first round of the Welcome Back guests; we have been digging into this for a month now and are happy to share what we have learned)

 

 

In port times are listed as part of your Viking invoice. Get a copy from your TA (preferably before you make the deposit). There is lots of important information to be found as part of the invoice.

 

Viking's Covid policies and protocols, and other fine-print items, are spelled out here:

• Booking Terms & Conditions
• Passenger Ticket Contract
• COVID-19 Policies and Procedures
• Risk-Free Guarantee Program

These links can also be found in the footer of every page on the Viking website (if you don't want to come scooting back here to find them).

 

Other logistical items:

 

Viking recently added this notice to the website (see My Trip/Update on Current Sailings):

 

 

 

 

[Australia08]

45 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

CC: sorry I did not see your post there. I have not gotten any info on protocols for Malta yet but hope they are better than the ones for Bermuda! Sorry you can’t be on our cruise.

Don’t forget to check on protocols for any airports you may have to transit through Europe. Some require negative Covid results, too. 

[JM0115]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

I should also mention, we'll look forward to hearing about your trailblazing on the 1st Bermuda trip.  We go June 29th.

We can share information as well on other cruises.  I see you did Midnight Sun- we are scheduled for July 2022.  And you are scheduled for Homelands which we did a couple years ago.

We cancelled Bermuda and picked the Malta cruise instead. We are on the 21-22 WC and Homelands but I am starting to think they are going to be cancelled.☹️we are on Iceland in July.

[JM0115]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Thanks, JM!  Are you using Viking Air or doing your own air?

My wife only wants to go Business Class, so our TA is investigating whether Viking Air Plus will do that (they would not do that for the Bermuda and Iceland cruises).  I did some investigation and can get Business Class roundtrip out of SFO (San Francisco) for $2000 from United or Lufthansa.  Where are you going to fly out of ?

Kent

For the Malta trip we are doing our own flights. Using frequent flyer for Business Class. We learned our lesson with the Bermuda trip where we were arriving the day of the cruise and it was causing us stress. As many others have said, it is much more calming to arrive a couple of days early to relax and in case of any issues on the way. We are going via FRA on the way there and via IST on the way back.

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

(this is the collective wisdom of the first round of the Welcome Back guests; we have been digging into this for a month now and are happy to share what we have learned)

 

 

In port times are listed as part of your Viking invoice. Get a copy from your TA (preferably before you make the deposit). There is lots of important information to be found as part of the invoice.

 

Viking's Covid policies and protocols, and other fine-print items, are spelled out here:

• Booking Terms & Conditions
• Passenger Ticket Contract
• COVID-19 Policies and Procedures
• Risk-Free Guarantee Program

These links can also be found in the footer of every page on the Viking website (if you don't want to come scooting back here to find them).

 

Other logistical items:

 

Viking recently added this notice to the website (see My Trip/Update on Current Sailings):

 

 

 

 

Thanks Peregrina.  I personally knew nearly all the above, but it is helpful for the rest of the viewers.  I was originally asking JM0115 specifically about Malta (not general Viking things).  So the last item helps. 🙂

 

[CCWineLover]

56 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

For the Malta trip we are doing our own flights. Using frequent flyer for Business Class. We learned our lesson with the Bermuda trip where we were arriving the day of the cruise and it was causing us stress. As many others have said, it is much more calming to arrive a couple of days early to relax and in case of any issues on the way. We are going via FRA on the way there and via IST on the way back.

JM - I agree with you regarding the stress element.

We are wanting to do business class as well.  Are you doing United/Lufthansa via Frankfurt then?  Which airline via Istanbul?  (Turkish?)  to what home airport?

How many days in Valetta ahead of time did you book?  Did you find a place in Valetta to stay?

Kent

[Peregrina651]

4 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Thanks Peregrina.  I personally knew nearly all the above, but it is helpful for the rest of the viewers.  I was originally asking JM0115 specifically about Malta (not general Viking things).  So the last item helps. 🙂

 

 

You are right; there will be lots of people stopping by here -- once they get over the shock of just having booked a cruise that is leaving in just a few months.

 

So, information is what I am offering and some of it may apply to the Malta cruises and some of it may not.

 

ABOUT SHOREX

After much delay, the shore excursions were posted for Iceland this evening. For the first two cruises, booking should have opened for all cabins at this point. The rumor-mill had it that even with the late start, we would be booking by cabin category. That did not happen; once the tours were loaded in, booking was open for all, first come, first served. I am assuming that this is the way it will happen for all the itineraries but then again it might not be.

 

Also,

• there was absolutely no announcement that they were in the process of being loaded in
• or any notice once they were posted
• seemed to be loading in by sail date

[geordie_jim]

17 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

We are in the UK and still have no information about these cruises - although they are mentioned in our cancellation email.  May be interested but need details obviously.

 

Just a quick note to say these are now bookable in the UK , they are on the UK website , although for the Malta / Croatia cruise you strangely have to specify "october" in the filter before it shows this cruise even though it is available in August/September as well. We have just booked the August 23rd Sailing , looking forward to sunshine , but slightly confused why the UK gov did not put Malta on the "green list" in the update yesterday.

[JM0115]

11 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

JM - I agree with you regarding the stress element.

We are wanting to do business class as well.  Are you doing United/Lufthansa via Frankfurt then?  Which airline via Istanbul?  (Turkish?)  to what home airport?

How many days in Valetta ahead of time did you book?  Did you find a place in Valetta to stay?

Kent

Kent, feel free to email me at vikingworldcruise2021@gmail.com.

[Mrs Miggins]

2 hours ago, geordie_jim said:

 

Just a quick note to say these are now bookable in the UK , they are on the UK website , although for the Malta / Croatia cruise you strangely have to specify "october" in the filter before it shows this cruise even though it is available in August/September as well. We have just booked the August 23rd Sailing , looking forward to sunshine , but slightly confused why the UK gov did not put Malta on the "green list" in the update yesterday.

Thanks, yes and I see that we can now book Iceland - however we may just book something in the New Year after looking at the itineraries and cost bearing in mind the likely on shore restrictions.

[CCWineLover]

The latest COVID restrictions were posted for Malta on May 6.

https://www.visitmalta.com/en/covid-19

https://deputyprimeminister.gov.mt/en/health-promotion/covid-19/Pages/travel.aspx

 

So far the United States is still on the RED list (meaning no entry allowed), and there are a number of countries on the AMBER list (mostly EU but strangely Canada as well), and none on the GREEN list.

 

No doubt this could change, else it would be an EU cruise !

 

[molymoo]

It appears that some Bermuda passengers cancelled their Bermuda cruises and picked up  one of the Malta itineraries.  The reason was the rather onerous requirements for admission.  Sadly it appears that Malta’s requirements are just as complicated.  I will hang in with Bermuda but if viking’s “radio silence” continues much longer we may throw in the towel.  

[CCWineLover]

5 minutes ago, molymoo said:

It appears that some Bermuda passengers cancelled their Bermuda cruises and picked up  one of the Malta itineraries.  The reason was the rather onerous requirements for admission.  Sadly it appears that Malta’s requirements are just as complicated.  I will hang in with Bermuda but if viking’s “radio silence” continues much longer we may throw in the towel.  

Our sentiments exactly!

[Peregrina651]

41 minutes ago, molymoo said:

It appears that some Bermuda passengers cancelled their Bermuda cruises and picked up  one of the Malta itineraries.  The reason was the rather onerous requirements for admission.  Sadly it appears that Malta’s requirements are just as complicated.  I will hang in with Bermuda but if viking’s “radio silence” continues much longer we may throw in the towel.  

 

On the other hand, "radio silence" has always been their game plan so why should we expect something new now?