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

[kpcg1]

Hi All,

We have been following this thread with interest as we are currently on Viking Sea for the 10 August cruise to the Adriatic. 

Just to let you know that we have been advised in the Viking Daily for tomorrow that independent exploration of Kotor, Montenegro will be possible due to the US CDC "recently updating the travel advisory level to a Level 3".

[travelguy19]

Every time I start getting really excited about our upcoming Malta/Adriatic cruise, I see something like this posted from the Iceland cruise 😫
 

Well, it’s happened: Jupiter Aug 10 sailing - positive test result from someone on our Golden Circle bus yesterday (we are and have been negative). We sat at the back of the bus, separated by several rows from others and double-masked. The bus was ~70% full. Lunch was fabulous but there were 2 busses together, tables for 6 and no possibility to distance.

Our choices seem to be: quarantine in our cabin for remainder of the cruise (it’s Thursday, so would be until Tuesday) or, with negative swab PCR test, fly home with government approval, which we are still waiting on. Either way, the cruise is over for us. We booked our own air and Viking will handle all transfers and flight arrangements for us.

Beyond disappointed of course, but we accepted the risks that come with traveling these days. We’ll likely leave and are waiting on next steps - specifically regarding whether authorities will allow us to leave after a negative swab and who will administer the swab. Can’t say we prepared ourselves for this exact outcome but we can’t fault anyone. However, had it been known that this could happen simply through contact tracing, we would have seriously reconsidered this trip. But, it’s such a fluid situation and everyone is doing the best they can and we appreciate that. And even though we isolated the 2 weeks prior to the trip, never stopped masking and had 2 PCR tests, this just illustrates how little is under our own control. While short, this was an amazing adventure in a fascinating country, on a beautiful ship and with a top-notch crew.

Hoping everyone else enjoys this fabulous experience on this and future cruises! And to our tour mates from yesterday, we’re wishing you negative tests and safe journeys home.

 

 

 

[Jchivers]

22 hours ago, gma1 said:

Doesn't Viking say 72 hours before arrival, to Malta. Are you saying you are arriving in Munich & then proceeding to Malta? We are going through Vienna & then Malta.

I ran into this "72 hour" problem before my 7/24 Adriatic cruise.  The problem then was that Malta required a test no older than 72 hours, but Germany (we transferred in Frankfurt) required a test no older than 48 hours.  The test we took on Wednesday prior to our Friday departure (which meant Saturday transfer in Frankfurt) was fine for Malta, but too old for Germany.  

 

Fortunately, this all turned out to be moot.  Both Malta and Germany didn't require a test if you had proof of vaccination.  So our test was a waste.  (But that was 3 weeks ago, and I'm no longer trying to keep up with current requirements.)

 

Coming home, Germany (Munich airport) wanted to see a test result, which was easy because we'd been tested daily on the ship, and Viking provides a printout of your last test results.

[lillypond]

8 hours ago, gma1 said:

So the departing airport I took to mean your original departing airport in USA ( Dulles Washington, since I am in USA) not your connection stop-over airport (Vienna for us). then Air Malta to Malta. 

That’s what I thought but Viking agent said my departing airport is Munich where I will board for Malta. 

[lillypond]

5 hours ago, barney61 said:

Is the Malta dPLF form printed out sufficient to gain entry to Malta or do you also need the printed and signed version of the PLF and separate Health Declaration?

Only the printed dPLF - 3 copies per Viking. Did your dPLF show submitted or approved?

[barney61]

14 minutes ago, lillypond said:

Only the printed dPLF - 3 copies per Viking. Did your dPLF show submitted or approved?

It says Submitted. When does it change to approved? Is it within the 10 days?

[gma1]

52 minutes ago, travelguy19 said:

Every time I start getting really excited about our upcoming Malta/Adriatic cruise, I see something like this posted from the Iceland cruise 😫
 

Well, it’s happened: Jupiter Aug 10 sailing - positive test result from someone on our Golden Circle bus yesterday (we are and have been negative). We sat at the back of the bus, separated by several rows from others and double-masked. The bus was ~70% full. Lunch was fabulous but there were 2 busses together, tables for 6 and no possibility to distance.

Our choices seem to be: quarantine in our cabin for remainder of the cruise (it’s Thursday, so would be until Tuesday) or, with negative swab PCR test, fly home with government approval, which we are still waiting on. Either way, the cruise is over for us. We booked our own air and Viking will handle all transfers and flight arrangements for us.

Beyond disappointed of course, but we accepted the risks that come with traveling these days. We’ll likely leave and are waiting on next steps - specifically regarding whether authorities will allow us to leave after a negative swab and who will administer the swab. Can’t say we prepared ourselves for this exact outcome but we can’t fault anyone. However, had it been known that this could happen simply through contact tracing, we would have seriously reconsidered this trip. But, it’s such a fluid situation and everyone is doing the best they can and we appreciate that. And even though we isolated the 2 weeks prior to the trip, never stopped masking and had 2 PCR tests, this just illustrates how little is under our own control. While short, this was an amazing adventure in a fascinating country, on a beautiful ship and with a top-notch crew.

Hoping everyone else enjoys this fabulous experience on this and future cruises! And to our tour mates from yesterday, we’re wishing you negative tests and safe journeys home.

 

 

 

So sorry this has happened to you. Doesn't sound like the port excursion guides was very responsible. Was there a Viking employee with you? I have read a couple other reports of non Viking guides not being very strict about distance & such. Worrisome! 

[travelguy19]

22 minutes ago, gma1 said:

So sorry this has happened to you. Doesn't sound like the port excursion guides was very responsible. Was there a Viking employee with you? I have read a couple other reports of non Viking guides not being very strict about distance & such. Worrisome! 

It didn’t happen to me. I copied this post on FB from someone who is currently on the Iceland cruise. Just wanted to pass it along to keep people informed. It does sound like they were not strict enough on this excursion (8 hour tour, by the way).

[MikeyB]

2 hours ago, kpcg1 said:

Hi All,

We have been following this thread with interest as we are currently on Viking Sea for the 10 August cruise to the Adriatic. 

Just to let you know that we have been advised in the Viking Daily for tomorrow that independent exploration of Kotor, Montenegro will be possible due to the US CDC "recently updating the travel advisory level to a Level 3".

You just made my hot, miserable day better!  Thank you for the news.

[broker1217]

5 hours ago, travelguy19 said:

Every time I start getting really excited about our upcoming Malta/Adriatic cruise, I see something like this posted from the Iceland cruise 😫
 

Well, it’s happened: Jupiter Aug 10 sailing - positive test result from someone on our Golden Circle bus yesterday (we are and have been negative). We sat at the back of the bus, separated by several rows from others and double-masked. The bus was ~70% full. Lunch was fabulous but there were 2 busses together, tables for 6 and no possibility to distance.

Our choices seem to be: quarantine in our cabin for remainder of the cruise (it’s Thursday, so would be until Tuesday) or, with negative swab PCR test, fly home with government approval, which we are still waiting on. Either way, the cruise is over for us. We booked our own air and Viking will handle all transfers and flight arrangements for us.

Beyond disappointed of course, but we accepted the risks that come with traveling these days. We’ll likely leave and are waiting on next steps - specifically regarding whether authorities will allow us to leave after a negative swab and who will administer the swab. Can’t say we prepared ourselves for this exact outcome but we can’t fault anyone. However, had it been known that this could happen simply through contact tracing, we would have seriously reconsidered this trip. But, it’s such a fluid situation and everyone is doing the best they can and we appreciate that. And even though we isolated the 2 weeks prior to the trip, never stopped masking and had 2 PCR tests, this just illustrates how little is under our own control. While short, this was an amazing adventure in a fascinating country, on a beautiful ship and with a top-notch crew.

Hoping everyone else enjoys this fabulous experience on this and future cruises! And to our tour mates from yesterday, we’re wishing you negative tests and safe journeys home.

 

 

 

Thanks for the copy and paste--very informative and good for everyone to understand the risks.

Fairly horrifying that Viking is doing 8 hour bus tours 70% full and having lunch at tables for 6 with no distancing.

 

[Pwalczyk]

13 hours ago, ammthm said:

About to leave for TPA, the 1st flight of 3.  Hope to be in Malta by this time tomorrow!  Still have fingers crossed that we have all the necessary paperwork & aps.  I'll update from the Venus.   Let me know if you have any questions/requests!

We just got off.   A spectacular ship and crew.  It will also be a private yacht… under 200 passengers for your trip as well.

[Pwalczyk]

On 8/5/2021 at 10:20 PM, Tom.in.nc said:

We haven’t (on the Venus) done this ourselves, but several crew members have said that they video chat with their families frequently.

 

Tom 

Tom…. It was really nice to meet you and spend time on the swim and sail yesterday.   Have a great trip to Jamaica and maybe we’ll see you in 2024;).  Paul and Christine

[Tom.in.nc]

1 hour ago, Pwalczyk said:

Tom…. It was really nice to meet you and spend time on the swim and sail yesterday.   Have a great trip to Jamaica and maybe we’ll see you in 2024;).  Paul and Christine

Paul & Christine,

Thanks for the well wishes.  You need to fix that typo… is 2022 not 2024 😉

Tom and Sylvia 

[rizello]

We are in Munich waiting for our flight to Malta.  We have not been asked for PCR test results at any point along the way, which is how it should have been.  

[bbtondo]

18 hours ago, kpcg1 said:

Hi All,

We have been following this thread with interest as we are currently on Viking Sea for the 10 August cruise to the Adriatic. 

Just to let you know that we have been advised in the Viking Daily for tomorrow that independent exploration of Kotor, Montenegro will be possible due to the US CDC "recently updating the travel advisory level to a Level 3".

What does the US CDC have anything to do with Viking and other countries? Obviously Kotor and  Montenegro are OK with independent travel. 

[LindaS272]

10 minutes ago, bbtondo said:

What does the US CDC have anything to do with Viking and other countries? Obviously Kotor and  Montenegro are OK with independent travel. 

Uh—because it’s the preeminent scientific “authority” and Viking consults it in conjunction with what the countries in question will allow? 👩🏼‍⚕️👨🏽‍⚕️🧑🏻‍⚕️

[Azulann]

5 hours ago, rizello said:

We are in Munich waiting for our flight to Malta.  We have not been asked for PCR test results at any point along the way, which is how it should have been.  

 Thanks for the update.

 Hope you have time to post about your cruise, once on board . 

Enjoy ! 

[gma1]

5 hours ago, rizello said:

We are in Munich waiting for our flight to Malta.  We have not been asked for PCR test results at any point along the way, which is how it should have been.  

Super...making it easier for us to feel we have all the boxes checked! Thanks so much. Anxious to hear what Malta ask of you!!!Anyone out there going through Vienna from IAD Dulles on Aug. 29?

[RALWauna]

FYI for traveling through Germany:  New info for all of us travelers that are going thru Germany on the way to Malta.  The Robert Koch Institute in Germany has designated the United States as a high-risk area effective at 0:00 hrs 15 August 2021.  It is not likely that designation will be removed  before my departure on 7 Sep.  I am staying overnight in Frankfurt on my way to Malta on 9 Sep.  Information regarding the change can be found here https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogebiete_neu.html  .  The website is in Germany but has a link to an English translation as a pdf file.

 

The long and short of the change is basically as follows:

If you are transiting a German airport and do not leave the international area, than nothing really changes.

 

However, if you do leave the international area, i.e. to stay overnight at a hotel or to sight see, then the regulations require that you submit a digital registration before you enter.  It appears that this can only be submitted 3 days before arrival.  To avoid quarantine, a requirement associated with a high-risk area designation, you must have been vaccinated or have a negative test, or recovered and the documentation must be uploaded to the digital registration site before arrival in Germany.  Upon doing so, quarantine is totally avoided.

[Jchivers]

1 hour ago, RALWauna said:

FYI for traveling through Germany:  New info for all of us travelers that are going thru Germany on the way to Malta.  The Robert Koch Institute in Germany has designated the United States as a high-risk area effective at 0:00 hrs 15 August 2021.  It is not likely that designation will be removed  before my departure on 7 Sep.  I am staying overnight in Frankfurt on my way to Malta on 9 Sep.  Information regarding the change can be found here https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogebiete_neu.html  .  The website is in Germany but has a link to an English translation as a pdf file.

 

The long and short of the change is basically as follows:

If you are transiting a German airport and do not leave the international area, than nothing really changes.

 

However, if you do leave the international area, i.e. to stay overnight at a hotel or to sight see, then the regulations require that you submit a digital registration before you enter.  It appears that this can only be submitted 3 days before arrival.  To avoid quarantine, a requirement associated with a high-risk area designation, you must have been vaccinated or have a negative test, or recovered and the documentation must be uploaded to the digital registration site before arrival in Germany.  Upon doing so, quarantine is totally avoided.

 

Just an anecdote: we had an extra-long layover in Frankfurt because we missed our connection, and wanted to buy an aspirin.  Apparently, the sundries & news & stuff shops inside security don't sell anything useful like aspirin -- you need to go through passport control to get to an airport pharmacy.  We were told "no big deal, no lines, you'll just zip right through".  So we went, got the aspirin, came back through passport control....and ran into *extremely* officious agents. Flipped slowly through our passports, page by page (including all the blank pages)...."How long do you plan to stay in Germany?"  "I'M NOT!  I'M TRYING TO CATCH A FREAKIN' PLANE AND GET ON MY FREAKIN' CRUISE!!!!" (or words to that affect.).  

 

Scowl.  Stamp.  Got my passport stamped 4 times on our cruise, all in German airports.  

 

The moral: don't change planes in Germany.

Edited August 13, 2021 by Jchivers

[travelguy19]

Printable Passenger Locator Form

N.B. As of Monday 16th August, ONLY THE DIGITAL PASSENGER LOCATOR FORM linked above will be accepted for travel to Malta. The printable Passenger Locator Form below will be INVALID.

[RALWauna]

Question about the on ship store, Viking Sea particularly but any would work, do they sell sun hats?

[FLORIDA FLOUNDER]

Does anyone know what Viking is doing with us on disembarkation day if your flight isn't until 1:30pm?

[DaveSJ711]

2 hours ago, Jchivers said:

 

Just an anecdote: we had an extra-long layover in Frankfurt because we missed our connection, and wanted to buy an aspirin.  Apparently, the sundries & news & stuff shops inside security don't sell anything useful like aspirin -- you need to go through passport control to get to an airport pharmacy.  We were told "no big deal, no lines, you'll just zip right through".  So we went, got the aspirin, came back through passport control....and ran into *extremely* officious agents. Flipped slowly through our passports, page by page (including all the blank pages)...."How long do you plan to stay in Germany?"  "I'M NOT!  I'M TRYING TO CATCH A FREAKIN' PLANE AND GET ON MY FREAKIN' CRUISE!!!!" (or words to that affect.).  

 

Scowl.  Stamp.  Got my passport stamped 4 times on our cruise, all in German airports.  

 

The moral: don't change planes in Germany.

Using the word "FREAKIN" (or any of its close cousins) in front of a passport control agent isn't generally a good idea.

[travelguy19]

1 hour ago, FLORIDA FLOUNDER said:

Does anyone know what Viking is doing with us on disembarkation day if your flight isn't until 1:30pm?

I saw somewhere that they took people on a bus tour around Malta for a couple of hours before the airport.