Good Interview with Viking’a Covid Health Officer

[Clay Clayton]

https://www.travelagewest.com/Travel/Cruise/Raquel-Bono-Viking-COVID19-Health-Officer

[kate7047]

Thank you, Clay. Very interesting.

[JM0115]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

https://www.travelagewest.com/Travel/Cruise/Raquel-Bono-Viking-COVID19-Health-Officer

Thank you Clay, did not know she was on board!

[LindaS272]

I’d be curious to know how a Covid case might impact the itineraries out of Malta. Ms. Bono didn’t give an indication of what Viking’s communications with Iceland had been before the Covid cases—but some of their communications to pax indicated they had sign off from the health authorities and then other government entities stepped in. Glad Iceland didn’t put the kibosh on the rest of the cruises. No clue as to what arrangements Malta & the Adriatic countries have required from Viking for current cruises there.

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, JM0115 said:

Thank you Clay, did not know she was on board!

The author of the article was on board, not the doctor. Viking's chief health officer met the ship when it docked in Reykjavik at the end of the cruise because after the passenger tested positive Iceland had imposed some restrictions on shore excursions Viking had not been anticipating based on their understanding of Iceland's protocols. She wanted to ensure that Iceland and Viking were on the same page if in the future a passenger were to test positive.

Edited July 26, 2021 by njhorseman

[sinsonte]

Thank you, Clay.

[TayanaLorna]

15 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

https://www.travelagewest.com/Travel/Cruise/Raquel-Bono-Viking-COVID19-Health-Officer

Thank you.  Its a good article.  It really underscores that Viking is doing the best they can given the different and changing requirements for where they travel.  It also shows that if you need to know exactly what will happen on your cruise in advance of going, that you probably should not be traveling.

[Clay Clayton]

14 hours ago, JM0115 said:

Thank you Clay, did not know she was on board!

NJHorseman is right. She wasn’t onboard “our” cruise but Jason (the author) was. He is “Popular Cruising” on YouTube. He and his wife were aboard doing a B2B starting on July 10th. You may have seen him playing around with his 360° camera.  That’s when I saw him for the first time-he was holding it up on a big stick out on the Aquavit Terrace. Anywho, chatted a bit with he and Mrs.PopularCruising. I follow both on Twitter and he posted the link I reposted. 

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

  It also shows that if you need to know exactly what will happen on your cruise in advance of going, that you probably should not be traveling.

Gee—I didn’t get that from the article. All of this helps further the information on what it’s like traveling in the time of Covid.

[DaveSJ711]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

It also shows that if you need to know exactly what will happen on your cruise in advance of going, that you probably should not be traveling.

Did I read a different interview? I didn't get a "no traveling" message from the piece I read. As Linda said, the interview added to the discussion about what it's like to travel these days. It's helpful to understand Viking's actions and the rationale for those actions.