Awaiting our first communication about Hawaiian Sojourn from Viking

[kjbacon]

Hard to believe that after all the threads and posts and sleuthing and swapping information, we have yet to hear anything but denial from Viking about this cruise. As recently as Friday, my Travel Agent was assured by Viking that there were no changes to the cruise and as recently as Saturday, my west coast travel friend was also assured by Viking that there were no changes to the Hawaiian Sojourn. It is now looking in the 90+% range (give or take to the mathematical brains out there) that the cruise as presented is not going to go. Since last night, MVJ is locked and Viking has finally stopped the sale of this cruise on their website but still, no communication from Viking.
 

I'm betting that many of you are as old as I am and can remember when we were trying to determine if Paul McCartney was dead by playing Sgt Peppers backwards or analyzing the significance of a walrus or crossing Abbey Road barefoot. That was more fun than this.

 

Now, we wait some more. And argue amongst ourselves whether or not we should have the option of a refund. Or whether or not we should be happy to go somewhere that not all of us want to (or will) go. Or whether Viking’s fine print is/should/will be binding because somebody paid a deposit. Or whether we should be happy to sit by a small pool for 17 days because we have no other choice. There are resorts here in the United States that we would strongly prefer to make a return trip to that as resorts, are far better and less expensive than a Viking cruise ship.

 

Back to waiting.

[bbtondo]

I feel for everyone.  I know what it's like to not know if a cruise is a go or not.  JMHO  Perhaps there is not news from Viking because your cruise is going just as Viking says.  No news is good news.  BUT, if it turns out that your cruise is cancelled or drastically changed, not good for Viking and they will lose a lot of credibility.  Time will tell.  I wish you good luck!

[kjbacon]

1 hour ago, bbtondo said:

I feel for everyone.  I know what it's like to not know if a cruise is a go or not.  JMHO  Perhaps there is not news from Viking because your cruise is going just as Viking says.  No news is good news.  BUT, if it turns out that your cruise is cancelled or drastically changed, not good for Viking and they will lose a lot of credibility.  Time will tell.  I wish you good luck!

Thank you and let’s hope you are right! If you are in Naples, you are near one of the resorts we especially enjoy on Marco Island!

[joeinsb]

I just called Viking and was told MVJ is locked out simply because of a technical website problem, and the IT staff is working on it. That certainly is a new excuse. The rep had no answer when I asked why the two 2021 Hawaii trips have disappeared from the Viking website nor any comments when I told her about what we had all learned about what the Hawaii government is saying about 2021 cruises and what the Orion crew is currently saying about going to Mexico instead of Hawaii. I do hope that with these recent developments on the Viking website that we are getting closer to an answer from the cruise line.

 

While I am unhappy about not being able to get a straight answer from Viking, I do suspect that in recent months, Hawaii has changed its position on cruise ships returning to the islands, and that has put the cruise lines in a bad situation. I love Hawaii, and I know with their limited medical facilities, they have some unique COVID concerns, but they are a state that has been known to waffle on some issues. Here's hoping we can all get some clarity soon.

 

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by joeinsb

[bbtondo]

1 hour ago, kjbacon said:

Thank you and let’s hope you are right! If you are in Naples, you are near one of the resorts we especially enjoy on Marco Island!

Yup, in Naples!  Love Marco Island.  Starting to get a lot of visitors now.

[kingsleyave]

1 hour ago, joeinsb said:

I just called Viking and was told MVJ is locked out simply because of a technical website problem, and the IT staff is working on it. That certainly is a new excuse. The rep had no answer when I asked why the two 2021 Hawaii trips have disappeared from the Viking website nor any comments when I told her about what we had all learned about what the Hawaii government is saying about 2021 cruises and what the Orion crew is currently saying about going to Mexico instead of Hawaii. I do hope that with these recent developments on the Viking website that we are getting closer to an answer from the cruise line.

 

While I am unhappy about not being able to get a straight answer from Viking, I do suspect that in recent months, Hawaii has changed its position on cruise ships returning to the islands, and that has put the cruise lines in a bad situation. I love Hawaii, and I know with their limited medical facilities, they have some unique COVID concerns, but they are a state that has been known to waffle on some issues. Here's hoping we can all get some clarity soon.

 

 

I agree with your assessment.  But I have 4 cruises on MyVikingJourney and this cruise is the only one locked out.  

[HHI Cruiser1]

Strange that Hawaii can 'waffle' on cruise ships but clearly accept packed plane loads of tourists by the hour.  Just a couple of hours of flights into Hawaii more that equals any Viking cruise ship.  Just remember that Hawaii is impacting your cruise and doesn't want your cruise dollars.  Viking is doing their best faced with Hawaii's 'waffle'.

Edited November 15, 2021 by prunderw
edit

[joeinsb]

Just to be clear about my speculation that Hawaii may have waffled on this issue, I have no inside information on exactly what Hawaii's policy is regarding cruise ships. I am just assuming that Viking and all of the other cruise lines that booked Hawaii cruises this year must have had some reason to believe at the time they offered the cruises that they would be allowed to dock in Hawaii, and now it appears that they cannot.

 

I agree the planes-versus-ships issue does not make a lot of sense, especially with a cruise line like Viking that is testing passengers every day. Hawaii-bound airplane passengers have to be vaccinated or tested within 72 hours before they arrive. Viking can easily meet those requirements. Other ships like the recently canceled Carnival Miracle Hawaii cruise perhaps could not have met the requirements since I believe they are allowing unvaccinated children onboard, and maybe Carnival's passengers would have been tested only before they boarded the ship in Los Angeles five days before arriving in Hawaii. That might have been a concern for Hawaii, but again I am just guessing about such things. As a previous poster said, I am just playing Sgt. Peppers backwards looking for clues while I await a response from Viking. I hope we hear something soon.

[HHI Cruiser1]

After reviewing Hawaii's travel website, it gets even stranger in that Hawaii is allowing unvaccinated travelers.  So they are turning away fully vaccinated and daily tested cruise passengers, but allowing any unvaccinated U.S. citizen by plane.  What an extremely strange double standard.  Quote from Hawaii gov't travel website:  U.S. citizens flying directly to Hawaii from an international destination have two options: (1) fully vaccinated U.S. citizens must provide proof of vaccination AND a negative COVID-19 test result within three days of boarding a flight to Hawaii OR (2) if not vaccinated, a negative COVID-19 test result within one day of boarding a flight to Hawaii.  Link: https://www.gohawaii.com/travel-requirements

[kingsleyave]

43 minutes ago, prunderw said:

Strange that Hawaii can 'waffle' on cruise ships but clearly accept packed plane loads of tourists by the hour.  Just a couple of hours of flights into Hawaii more that equals any Viking cruise ship.  Just remember that Hawaii is impacting your cruise and doesn't want your cruise dollars.  Viking is doing their best faced with Hawaii's 'waffle'.

I agree that Hawaii is causing the problem, but Viking should have been communicating with us by this point.  Even if just to say they are working with Hawaii and also working on a backup itinerary.

[55Division]

We’re currently in Hawaii and the requirements vary from island to island. On Oahu we show our driver’s license as well as our QR code from Hawaii’s travel site for every hotel upon checkin, every restaurant and every activity. In Maui, we only showed the required documents once at hotel checkin.

[kjbacon]

4 hours ago, bbtondo said:

Yup, in Naples!  Love Marco Island.  Starting to get a lot of visitors now.

We love it too! Our last visit was just a couple days before Ida blew into town. You just don’t get tired of a gorgeous resort, great restaurants, the conch shell excursions, and the dolphins! Our other fave Florida resorts are in St. Augustine and South Beach. It’s cold, cloudy, and windy here outside of Philly today so my mind is down south with you!

[mc_reeve]

3 hours ago, kingsleyave said:

I agree that Hawaii is causing the problem, but Viking should have been communicating with us by this point.  Even if just to say they are working with Hawaii and also working on a backup itinerary.

Yes - this is the problem.  Hawaii is obviously being a big pain and cruise ships have been on the wrong side of Covid politics and regulation since the very beginning so I am not terribly surprised that Hawaii is hard to work with.  That said, Viking has been horrible on communications with their customers and this isn't the first time.  We went through the very same thing on our cancelled Asia trans-pacific cruise scheduled for next April but cancelled in August.  Given how hard they try on the marketing side - it is very hard to come to any conclusion other than their poor communication with customers on problem cruises is a business decision and not incompetence. 

[Jim Avery]

Even pre covid the shore side management response/communication was a point of contention on this board.  I just hope the wonderful management response/communication onboard still exists..

[lovemycruisetoo]

It’s now called the Mexican Riviera Sojourn.  

[Jim Avery]

The December 4th Roll Call shows the itinerary.  

[mc_reeve]

23 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Even pre covid the shore side management response/communication was a point of contention on this board.  I just hope the wonderful management response/communication onboard still exists..

As first time Viking cruisers, that is the one thing that has kept us from running away from Viking as fast as possible.  We live in a close-knit community where lots of people have had good experiences with mostly river cruises on Viking and they have been shocked at how our two cancelled cruises have been handled.  They all had good things to say about their onboard experience.  Depending on what Viking offers, we might stick with our Dec 20 cruise and just not get off at ports where reports (or even rumors) of crime are bad - which probably means most of them.  We have never been to Cabo.  But we won’t do Mexico for the same price/deal we got for Hawaii.  

 

[Heidi13]

6 hours ago, prunderw said:

After reviewing Hawaii's travel website, it gets even stranger in that Hawaii is allowing unvaccinated travelers.  So they are turning away fully vaccinated and daily tested cruise passengers, but allowing any unvaccinated U.S. citizen by plane.  What an extremely strange double standard.  Quote from Hawaii gov't travel website:  U.S. citizens flying directly to Hawaii from an international destination have two options: (1) fully vaccinated U.S. citizens must provide proof of vaccination AND a negative COVID-19 test result within three days of boarding a flight to Hawaii OR (2) if not vaccinated, a negative COVID-19 test result within one day of boarding a flight to Hawaii.  Link: https://www.gohawaii.com/travel-requirements

 

When I researched it back in August, Hawaii seems to be using the US CDC's conditional sailing order, which was extended again at the end of October.

[kjbacon]

While I am sincerely appreciative of all the new information provided here on these boards since yesterday morning, it is important to note that I have received no information whatsoever from Viking (nor has my travel agent). None! MVJ remains locked. So, still waiting!

 

If the Mexican Riviera itinerary that was posted here is the actual replacement for our Hawaii cruise, that will not work for us. I’m not interested in another trip to Mexico and especially at this time, we will not travel outside of the United States. We would not want to depend on hospital care in another country right now. We are not comfortable with the Covid situation in Mexico plus two of the ports are in “do not travel” states and another is in a “reconsider travel” state (all due to crime and kidnapping per our state department). How this can be ok instead of Hawaii escapes me.

 

Hopefully we will hear something from Viking sometime soon so that we can make some type of informed decision and have some chance of making replacement plans for the holidays.

[bluemarble]

Here's the email from Viking I received a few minutes ago, for those who are interested in the details. We are booked on the December 20 Orion departure.

 

16NOV2021

Dear Viking Guest,

I hope this finds you healthy and well. At Viking, our family of loyal guests, dedicated employees and valued partners is at the center of every decision we make. This dedication to our Viking family and our mission—to create meaningful experiences that are destination focused, allowing you to explore the world in comfort—has never wavered.

 

While travel restrictions have eased in most destinations around the world, the impacts of the pandemic continue to make cruise travel particularly complicated in some specific locations. When we developed your Hawaiian Island Sojourn voyage, travel to Hawaii was possible. Since then, however, Hawaii has restricted cruise ship travel until the end of 2021, preventing us from sailing as scheduled.

 

To ensure you have the opportunity to sail during your planned travel dates, we have developed an alternative itinerary for Viking Orion. We hope you will find that the new Mexican Riviera Sojourn itinerary provides an opportunity to travel and enjoy the Viking experience in a different and beautiful region of the world.

 

Your new itinerary is outlined below.

 

Day	New Itinerary
1	Los Angeles, CA
2	Sail the Pacific Ocean
3	Sail the Pacific Ocean
4	Sail the Pacific Ocean
5	Pichilingue(La Paz), Mexico
6	Sail the Pacific Ocean
7	Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico
8	Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
9	Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
10	Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico
11	Sail the Pacific Ocean
12	Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico
13	Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico
14	Sail the Pacific Ocean
15	Sail the Pacific Ocean
16	Sail the Pacific Ocean
17	Los Angeles, CA

 

Rest assured, on this new itinerary, neither your ship nor stateroom have changed. Viking Orion will be ready to greet you in Los Angeles as planned with a warm and welcoming staff who will be delighted to have you as a guest.

• As the ports along your journey will differ from your original itinerary, you will need to book your shore excursions on board.

We recognize that this is dissapointing news, and we sincerely apologize. As a token of our appreciation for your understanding and patience, we have added a shipboard credit to your account for this voyage for each guest, based on your stateroom category. This credit can be applied toward optional shore excursions, onboard services or used to purchase a Silver Spirits Beverage Package.

 

Please review the attached document to see additional details of your new voyage and of the shipboard credit that has been added. If your new travel arrangements are acceptable, there is no further action to confirm its acceptance.

 

However, if you prefer an alternative journey, please contact Viking or your Travel Advisor by November 21, 2021.

 

Thank you for your loyalty and support; we look forward to welcoming you on board.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Richard Marnell
Executive Vice President, Marketing

[duquephart]

No mention of refund, only alternate journey. In what universe is this OK?

[uktog]

Any UK guests would be entitled to a full refund as it is a substantial change under ABTA rules

[sonnycruises]

On 11/15/2021 at 7:32 AM, prunderw said:

After reviewing Hawaii's travel website, it gets even stranger in that Hawaii is allowing unvaccinated travelers.  So they are turning away fully vaccinated and daily tested cruise passengers, but allowing any unvaccinated U.S. citizen by plane.  What an extremely strange double standard.  Quote from Hawaii gov't travel website:  U.S. citizens flying directly to Hawaii from an international destination have two options: (1) fully vaccinated U.S. citizens must provide proof of vaccination AND a negative COVID-19 test result within three days of boarding a flight to Hawaii OR (2) if not vaccinated, a negative COVID-19 test result within one day of boarding a flight to Hawaii.  Link: https://www.gohawaii.com/travel-requirements

I have lived on Oahu for 26 years and our current governor is the worst one by far over that time period. Just to refresh your memory he's the same governor who couldn't call off a false North Korean missile alert because he didn't know his password. Unbelievably they reelected him here!

[Mrs Miggins]

On another platform it is said that full refunds are being given when requested .

[Twitchly]

3 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

On another platform it is said that full refunds are being given when requested .

Good. It’s the right thing to do.