LIVE from "Iceland's Natural Beauty" -- All Sailings, 2021

[taylorbun1]

2 hours ago, hodges97 said:

There are 4 of us scheduled to go August 31 Jupiter.  With all I'm reading and with my question about whether our insurance will be good if we defy the CDC guidelines, I'm afraid we are out.  Our last day to cancel is next Tuesday.  It's wait and see right now with what Viking is going to do.  

 

I'm glad I'm not one of their bean counters who has to make this call.  

We have the Viking Insurance I thought it was good up until the last day....do you know if I am mistaken?

 

[taylorbun1]

12 minutes ago, sinsonte said:

If statistics matter in the go/no-go decision then the following should make a difference.  Notice that the trend line is going down and by 8/31 (our embarkation date) should be in good shape.  The only troublesome locations will be airports.

I went to the JHU site but could not find this specific graph but super thanks for this very interesting site forward.  How do I find this graph?  TIA- Oh I may have found it under "days"...correct?

 

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by taylorbun1

[jtwind]

9 minutes ago, sinsonte said:

If statistics matter in the go/no-go decision then the following should make a difference.  Notice that the trend line is going down and by 8/31 (our embarkation date) should be in good shape.  The only troublesome locations will be airports.

No doubt that we'd rather see the 7 day average going down than up, but that doesn't mean that it will continue in that direction.  Look at the 7 day averages over the last year for the US, or any state, as examples.

[gramfrog]

13 minutes ago, taylorbun1 said:

We have the Viking Insurance I thought it was good up until the last day....do you know if I am mistaken?

 

Please read your information on Trip Mate that was doubtlessly sent in one of your early reservation emails.  Cancellations are based on specific criteria.  "I really don't want to go" aka fear of travel is NOT one of those accepted criteria.  

[gramfrog]

10 minutes ago, taylorbun1 said:

I went to the JHU site but could not find this specific graph but super thanks for this very interesting site forward.  How do I find this graph?  TIA- Oh I may have found it under "days"...correct?

 

 

info on Iceland's Delta variant problems: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-iceland-deals-with-growing-delta-problem/POBMY237SUXMD46PHFEZ3OU2BA/

[TayanaLorna]

1 hour ago, KarNog said:

I'm one of those people who is fully vaxxed, never stopped wearing a mask and have continued to avoid any unnecessary potential exposures. I'm accustomed to living in a bubble. Going to Iceland means I'll be in a different, more beautiful bubble. 

If Viking cancels my trip, then I'll unpack and only then.

With your safety protocol you probably won't be the fully vaccinated person on the ship who tests positive.

[Ellistravels]

I’m still working on how to best get my PCR covid test for entering Iceland.  It seems most results from PCR test come back 36-72 hours after testing BUT you have to test no more than 72 hours before your flight departure.  I will be sitting on the airport steps watching my phone for my test results (lol).  I would appreciate any ideas on how others accomplished this.  Perhaps everyone used rapid tests but I’m considering that those might be disallowed soon.  Did anyone use the test kits where you have an online proctor monitor your self test and then give you your results via an app?  Stay safe and thank you.

 

[jtwind]

24 minutes ago, sinsonte said:

If statistics matter in the go/no-go decision then the following should make a difference.  Notice that the trend line is going down and by 8/31 (our embarkation date) should be in good shape.  The only troublesome locations will be airports.

Downturn doesn't mean return to near zero.  See here:  https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/iceland/

[TayanaLorna]

1 hour ago, jtwind said:

You have to be realistic about the comparison between traveling to Iceland vs. staying home.  Reactions to this big surge in the US are all over the place.  Some fully vaxed people have gone back to wearing masks everywhere and cutting out any unnecessary potential exposures.  If you're one of those, you shouldn't be going.  Other vaxed folks in the US have completely gone back to their pre-pandemic lifestyles, even during this big surge.  If you fail into that category, travel to Iceland shouldn't be a problem for you.

I think it is just the opposite.  If you are fully vaaxed and gone back to your pre-pandemic lifestyle, you will probably be the one who tests positive on the ship but is asymptomatic.

[miaf]

9 minutes ago, Ellistravels said:

I would appreciate any ideas on how others accomplished this.

 

You don't need a PCR test. You can get a rapid antigen test at Walgreens/CVS/etc... and have the result within hours.

Edited August 11, 2021 by miaf

[Snit13]

1 hour ago, KarNog said:

I'm one of those people who is fully vaxxed, never stopped wearing a mask and have continued to avoid any unnecessary potential exposures. I'm accustomed to living in a bubble. Going to Iceland means I'll be in a different, more beautiful bubble. 

If Viking cancels my trip, then I'll unpack and only then.

My attitude also.  Good to hear I/we are not alone.  Looking forward to checking off another country visited.  Just sorry I won't get to meet and mingle with the locals other than guide and driver.

[TayanaLorna]

19 minutes ago, gramfrog said:

Please read your information on Trip Mate that was doubtlessly sent in one of your early reservation emails.  Cancellations are based on specific criteria.  "I really don't want to go" aka fear of travel is NOT one of those accepted criteria.  

If you have the Viking Insurance, Viking provides Cancel for Any Reason but the monies spent are given in a voucher to use on a future cruise.  If you qualify for one of the insurance companies valid reasons for cancellation, provide all their required paperwork within their time frame, then you can get a cash refund.

[jtwind]

10 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

I think it is just the opposite.  If you are fully vaaxed and gone back to your pre-pandemic lifestyle, you will probably be the one who tests positive on the ship but is asymptomatic.

Yeah, that's been the tough thing about traveling during this pandemic.  In general, the risk takers are the ones who are willing to travel.  The cautious people stay home.  By default, when we travel during a pandemic, it's going to be with those who aren't on the careful side.

[Ballerina Sweetie Pie]

2 hours ago, Wander58 said:

There a 6 of us going on the Aug 17 Jupiter sailing.  None of us has even thought of cancelling.  One statistic I would like to see is of the vaccinated breakthrough cases - how many were people who had other issues or are immun-compromised?   Also, if you look at the stats on Covid.is, almost all the cases are domestic, with only 5 out of 100,000 at the at the border for the rolling 14 day average.  The Viking Bubble is about the safest place you can be.

I’m not afraid of catching Covid- it’s the quarantine from contact tracing I don’t want

[Wander58]

3 minutes ago, Ballerina Sweetie Pie said:

I’m not afraid of catching Covid- it’s the quarantine from contact tracing I don’t want

Then you'll be retested and on your way if negative...so earlier posts indicated.

[sinsonte]

I realize that there is not any guarantee that the slope will continue in the same direction but I'm hoping it does partially based on what happened in the UK.  In the UK, there was a very fast rise with the Delta variant followed by an equally fast descent.

[Snit13]

How many of you posting on this thread are booked on the August 31 Jupiter cruise?  I have the names of those who posted on the Roll Call but I see some new names I don't think I recognize.  I am accustomed the the Roll Calls for Celebrity and Royal Caribbean where we normally get together to meet the cruisers we have exchanged posts with on CC.

[jan_az]

For those of you who are uncomfortable, you probably don’t want to know that they just announced another positive case 

[hoorayy]

Currently on the sky.  2nd positive case just announced.

[sleepybobo]

19 minutes ago, Wander58 said:

Then you'll be retested and on your way if negative...so earlier posts indicated.

Not entirely true.  There are reports of people being quarantined in their cabin for 5 days because they were deemed close contacts of a COVID positive case.  They were tested negative the entire time.  In Malta now, a couple are being quarantined in a hotel room as they are close contacts (daughter and SIL) of a COVID positive case.  Local rules override Viking safety protocols.

Edited August 11, 2021 by sleepybobo

[Msgolferfhcc]

We have the PCR rapid test scheduled for this Sat for next weeks trip. If it comes back false positive, then we’ll scurry down the street to Total Access and get the other. We don’t fly out til 5:30 pm Monday so should have adequate turn around time. And as it was said, we’ll just be in a beautiful new bubble. Just disappointed by not going ashore on own, but c’est la vie. Although I still keep expecting Viking to cancel. Hope not. 

Edited August 11, 2021 by Msgolferfhcc

[Triptkr]

2 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

Not entirely true.  There are reports of people being quarantined in their cabin for 5 days because they were deemed close contacts of a COVID positive case.  They were tested negative the entire time.  In Malta now, a couple are being quarantined in a hotel room as they are close contacts (daughter and SIL) of a COVID positive case.  Local rules override Viking safety protocols.

Well said.  This is my concern...the inconsistency of it all in regards to the close contact thing.  It seems some contacts are sent to their room, retested and if negative can rejoin the population.  However, it also seems we've seen/heard of other times when they (close contacts) had to stay in their staterooms for the rest of the cruise even if they were retested negative.   I'm sure I don't have the full picture but I don't think most of us do and therefore transparency would be awesome right about now.

 

[sinsonte]

@taylorbun1 I just did a google search for "iceland covid"  and this graph was displayed with options as to the length of period for the data.  I chose last 30 days.

[sleepybobo]

1 minute ago, Triptkr said:

Well said.  This is my concern...the inconsistency of it all in regards to the close contact thing.  It seems some contacts are sent to their room, retested and if negative can rejoin the population.  However, it also seems we've seen/heard of other times when they (close contacts) had to stay in their staterooms for the rest of the cruise even if they were retested negative.   I'm sure I don't have the full picture but I don't think most of us do and therefore transparency would be awesome right about now.

 

Totally agree.  I'm puzzled by the different quarantine requirements.  The length of quarantine varies from under an hour to days.  It seems the quarantine and compensation policies are fluid.  People in the July 20 sailing (missed three ports) received a 50% voucher.  However, the people being quarantined in subsequent sailings aren't getting any compensation from Viking.  

 

[bbtondo]

34 minutes ago, Wander58 said:

Then you'll be retested and on your way if negative...so earlier posts indicated.

Is this a fact from Viking?