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

[rbslos18]

9 minutes ago, BarbRN said:

Calling now. We would lose 9000 if we cancel now. I just want to postpone. 

I feel for you and others. Iceland was a great idea given the high rate of vaccination. But the quarantine risk has grown due to Delta. The scary thing is none of us knows what the rules of the game are. And they seem to change even mid-cruise. 

Edited August 13, 2021 by rbslos18

[Heartgrove]

19 minutes ago, rbslos18 said:

It’s possible. But with Delta you can be 15 feet away and contract it.

 

Breakthrough is still small with vaccinated people, but the Delta variant is capable of infecting twice as many unvaccinated people as COVID before. Not sure about 15 feet for transmission. CDC doesn't have anything about distance on their page about Delta.

 

On our cruise (July 17) there was not 100% total compliance by 100% of the passengers. Mask wearing was the largest problem. But infection rates were lower then. Oddly we were actually glad when the vacation was over.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by Heartgrove

[sleepybobo]

16 minutes ago, BarbRN said:

Calling now. We would lose 9000 if we cancel now. I just want to postpone. 

When is your sailing? Less than 14 days away?

[stretchcruz]

8 minutes ago, Wander58 said:

So did the WHOLE bus get sent home??  This doesn't make any sense.

According to the passenger posting in a FB group he and the entire bus are quarantined. He said that at the lunch stop there were 2 buses there with 6 people at each table and he was uncomfortable.  He said he was at the back of the bus double masked. He was hoping that Iceland would let them fly home early with their negative tests rather than staying onboard in their cabin. He also thought, but wasn't sure, that the passengers on the bus with the positive case the day before were also quarantined.

And the poor folks in Malta stuck in a hotel for 14 days! Her mom tested positive, she and her husband and dad all negative. They are in a hotel ordering in food, washing clothes in the bathtub, trying to order cleaning supplies to clean the bathroom. 

[rbslos18]

8 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 Oddly we were actually glad when the vacation was over.

That is sad to hear but understandable. Cruising currently is complex with a lot of variables out of our control. And possibly out of Viking’s control. Hopefully we are reaching a peak soon and things will improve.  Our next cruise is December and we are nervous about the possibility of following all the Viking rules yet ending up in quarantine. It’s a stressor over every vaccinated cruisers head and is exhausting for many.

[sleepybobo]

2 minutes ago, stretchcruz said:

According to the passenger posting in a FB group he and the entire bus are quarantined. He said that at the lunch stop there were 2 buses there with 6 people at each table and he was uncomfortable.  He said he was at the back of the bus double masked. He was hoping that Iceland would let them fly home early with their negative tests rather than staying onboard in their cabin. He also thought, but wasn't sure, that the passengers on the bus with the positive case the day before were also quarantined.

And the poor folks in Malta stuck in a hotel for 14 days! Her mom tested positive, she and her husband and dad all negative. They are in a hotel ordering in food, washing clothes in the bathtub, trying to order cleaning supplies to clean the bathroom. 

They can't get any laundry and housekeeping services?

[sleepybobo]

Just now, rbslos18 said:

That is sad to hear but understandable. Cruising currently is complex with a lot of variables out of our control. And possibly out of Viking’s control. Hopefully we are reaching a peak soon and things will improve.  Our next cruise is December and we are nervous about the possibility of following all the Viking rules yet ending up in quarantine. It’s a stressor over every vaccinated cruisers head and is exhausting for many.

Same here.  I cancelled Iceland in late June because of quarantine risk.  We have West Indies in late December.  I thought things will improve by December.  Now I am not so sure anymore.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

2 minutes ago, Wander58 said:

So did the WHOLE bus get sent home??  This doesn't make any sense.

I don't know for sure who got sent back to the ship for quarantining, with or without an option of going home.  But in any case, Iceland is being much more cautious than the U.S.  They have quarantine conditions and rules posted on their Covid site (covid.is) but the information doesn't specifically address the situations that cruisers face. Therefore, if Iceland decides that a condition warrants quarantining, that's what happens.  

 

[rbslos18]

20 minutes ago, stretchcruz said:

According to the passenger posting in a FB group he and the entire bus are quarantined. He said that at the lunch stop there were 2 buses there with 6 people at each table and he was uncomfortable.  He said he was at the back of the bus double masked. He was hoping that Iceland would let them fly home early with their negative tests rather than staying onboard in their cabin. He also thought, but wasn't sure, that the passengers on the bus with the positive case the day before were also quarantined.

And the poor folks in Malta stuck in a hotel for 14 days! Her mom tested positive, she and her husband and dad all negative. They are in a hotel ordering in food, washing clothes in the bathtub, trying to order cleaning supplies to clean the bathroom. 

The FB post is a must read for anyone scheduled to cruise. There are close to 400 comments. The offshoot is getting COVID is less frightening then what can happen if you are close to a person who tests positive on a Viking ship. 
I am near a large number of unmasked preschool children 5 days a week. I wear a very good mask and get tested once a week, not every day. Viking’s daily testing should be revised to testing all passengers on a rotating basis unless someone test positive.

Edited August 13, 2021 by rbslos18

[TayanaLorna]

2 hours ago, yuhome said:

Did anyone take the nose swab test instead of saliva test?  I have very extreme dry mouth which produces no saliva.

On the ship the only choice is the saliva test daily.

[KarNog]

Wonder at what point Viking will start cancellation of cruises? I see lots of folks here and on FB cancelling their upcoming cruises.

FTR, I'm holding out until I get a positive test or Mr. Viking himself calls me. There's a pretty good chance that I will go without Viking because I booked my own flights. I know, I know, it's risky, but I'm vaccinated, healthy, and ready to travel.

Too bad I can't get a Silver Spirits package on self travel, right?

[BarbRN]

12 minutes ago, KarNog said:

Wonder at what point Viking will start cancellation of cruises? I see lots of folks here and on FB cancelling their upcoming cruises.

FTR, I'm holding out until I get a positive test or Mr. Viking himself calls me. There's a pretty good chance that I will go without Viking because I booked my own flights. I know, I know, it's risky, but I'm vaccinated, healthy, and ready to travel.

Too bad I can't get a Silver Spirits package on self travel, right?

What happens to our money if we test positive ?

[KarNog]

1 minute ago, BarbRN said:

What happens to our money if we test positive ?

I'm pretty sure that if you have the Viking insurance, you get a refund because you'd be covered under trip interruption. But don't trust me. I've never flown Viking. I did read the insurance stuff but I'm not a lawyer.

[BQEC]

Hi. I’m no lawyer either, however, Viking’s Passenger Contract page 5 of 19 item 11 covers this issue. It depends on when you test positive as to compensation. Suspected positive is also addressed. Interesting reading. 
 

docs.vikingcruises.com

[KarNog]

7 minutes ago, BQEC said:

Hi. I’m no lawyer either, however, Viking’s Passenger Contract page 5 of 19 item 11 covers this issue. It depends on when you test positive as to compensation. Suspected positive is also addressed. Interesting reading. 
 

docs.vikingcruises.com

I couldn't get your link to work, but it seems as though if we abide by their rules (which is testing) and we test positive, then we get a refund. 

Edited August 13, 2021 by KarNog

[BQEC]

37 minutes ago, KarNog said:

Wonder at what point Viking will start cancellation of cruises? I see lots of folks here and on FB cancelling their upcoming cruises.

FTR, I'm holding out until I get a positive test or Mr. Viking himself calls me. There's a pretty good chance that I will go without Viking because I booked my own flights. I know, I know, it's risky, but I'm vaccinated, healthy, and ready to travel.

Too bad I can't get a Silver Spirits package on self travel, right?

As for Viking cancellation, don’t think this will happen unless Iceland shuts it down. Too much $ would need to be refunded. Better for the passengers to cancel 14 days out. Then Viking keeps the $. That is risk free, yes for Viking. Interest free loans. 

[BQEC]

3 minutes ago, KarNog said:

I couldn't get your link to work, but if you are unable to board the plane because of a positive test, it seems as though that would be trip interruption which should be covered. But what do I know?

Not a link. Copy and paste to your browser. 

[Gigilovestotravel]

4 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

There may be things you can do to minimize risk: spread out more on the excursion coaches (it IS usually possible), take the lesser popular excursions or outdoor excursions, and possibly take mid-day excursions as they're more likely to be less popular/populated.  Vigur Island boat and Heimaey Wildlife of Heimaey boat were fairly close encounters.  But if you can grab them early, outdoor seats are available on the Vigur boat, and outdoor is probably a little better than indoor when it comes to safety.  As an avid photographer, I liked it back there, although it was hard to hear the guide when she spoke to the group.   On the Heimaey boat, we were allowed to stand, walk around, or sit downstairs - so there ARE options.  For tendering, you can be fairly close together, but sometimes you can sit somewhere farther away from people.  And the tenders run pretty frequently, so if you see a crowded boat, you can wait for another, unless Iceland or Viking wants the bubble so tight that you MUST tender with your group. 

 

In the end, though, I think you just have to act safely and hope for the best.  

Thank you for all of this info. It is too late for me to cancel the cruise without losing all my money. Instead I canceled the all-day Circle Tour (which I really wanted). Then I'll watch each day and decide before the 24-hour limit whether to cancel the next day excursion. I have walking tours, Vigur Island, and Heimay (sp) by Boat. My husband prefers the World Cafe so we've never eaten in the Restaurant yet.

[BQEC]

1 minute ago, BQEC said:

Not a link. Copy and paste to your browser. 

The insurance coverage in that case is interesting. Policy provisions will prevail. 

[EJLobster]

6 hours ago, susanlik said:

You are on bus to get to boat or atv

Not always.  We did tours right off the ship in Seyisfadur/ and took the 10 min tender ride to shore in Heimaey and walked to ATV tour and also RIB boat tour.

[KarNog]

12 minutes ago, Gigilovestotravel said:

Thank you for all of this info. It is too late for me to cancel the cruise without losing all my money. Instead I canceled the all-day Circle Tour (which I really wanted). Then I'll watch each day and decide before the 24-hour limit whether to cancel the next day excursion. I have walking tours, Vigur Island, and Heimay (sp) by Boat. My husband prefers the World Cafe so we've never eaten in the Restaurant yet.

Hey, hang in there. What's your cruise date? I'm going on the 8/21. I think we're gonna be fine. If I have to sit on the balcony all day and drink wine/eat lobster, then I hope you're on the balcony next to us.

[Gigilovestotravel]

Just now, KarNog said:

Hey, hang in there. What's your cruise date? I'm going on the 8/21. I think we're gonna be fine. If I have to sit on the balcony all day and drink wine/eat lobster, then I hope you're on the balcony next to us.

8/21 with you!

[KarNog]

1 minute ago, Gigilovestotravel said:

8/21 with you!

I hope you have the Silver Bullet package AND you're on the balcony next to us. Did you know that you can  break down the divider between balconies? We'll have fun!

If you don't have the beverage package, I wonder if the steward will be suspicious if I order LOTS of cocktails to my cabin.

[BarbRN]

9 minutes ago, Gigilovestotravel said:

8/21 with you!

Me too

[BarbRN]

6 minutes ago, KarNog said:

I hope you have the Silver Bullet package AND you're on the balcony next to us. Did you know that you can  break down the divider between balconies? We'll have fun!

If you don't have the beverage package, I wonder if the steward will be suspicious if I order LOTS of cocktails to my cabin.

Lol