Viking Jupiter - Passengers may be stuck on board in Argentina

[Nachosdelux]

My parents are on the Viking Jupiter Transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

 

The cruise was supposed to end in BA on Dec 5th, however, they were advised that they will not be able to leave the ship until Dec 7th.

 

This is due to Argentina's requirement for a 14 day quarantine, possibly starting from the stop in Senegal on Nov 22.

 

Anyone here on board?

[LindaS272]

There’s a little bit of info on this development on the Dec. 5 Jupiter roll call:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2763724-viking-south-america-chilean-fjords-december-05-2021/page/4/

 

Nothing so far on the Nov. 14 roll call but you could try posting there as well:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2726965-viking-jupiter-november-14-2021-southern-atlantic-crossing/page/21/

 

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

Current docking time in Buenos Aires is scheduled for Tuesday the 7th at 4pm.  The ship will be going back and forth between Montevideo and Punta Del Este for stops on the days in between.

 

And since the ship did not stop in Senegal, it was calculated from the departure from the Cape Verde Islands, not Dakar.  (Didn't your parents tell you of the itinerary changes?)

[Nachosdelux]

My parents did mention itinerary changes but were not specific other than cancelling Morocco.

 

They just said it was calculated from the stop on the "island off the coast of Africa".  

 

They are having a great time and not that concerned, just thought I'd pass it along.

 

BTW thanks LindaS272 for the links.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Nachosdelux

[uktog]

I transferred off this cruise earlier this year (and was chided by some on the roll call for being so cautious). Boy am I glad I didn’t go. The South American authorities are challenging enough for cruise ships in non covid times. Viking took quite a gamble even going there. Looks like it’s not paid off. I’m sure those onboard with free time back home will be loving the extra time on board but anyone working or with other commitments must be really stressed out. Such a shame 

[deec]

If this disembarking is delayed,  what is happening to the cruise that follows?

[FlyerTalker]

Folks don't board until the current passengers leave.  And it is necessarily shortened.

 

Next question?

 

 

[LindaS272]

Yeah but where do those people for the next cruise hang out waiting for the ship? Will Viking have to put them up in hotels in BA? Probably can’t change their last minute flights into BA, as well as Covid tests before flying.

[Mich3554]

I’m sitting in Puerto del Este right now.  We aren’t ‘stuck’.  Argentina will not allow people in who have been in Africa in the last 2 weeks.  Cape Verde is considered Africa, so we are on the boat until 12/7.  Tomorrow we will sail to Montevideo, return here the day after, then go to BA.  We are moving around as docking in Montevideo is already book by someone else.

If you have a huge commitment and must get home, Viking is looking to fly people out of Uruguay.  A group flew out yesterday, and I imagine more will fly out tomorrow.

FWIW…Viking has done a spectacular job.  I have seen places that were not on my radar prior to this cruise and they now need to be revisited.  
Viking has instructed those in BA waiting to board to go to a specific hotel.  I don’t know which hotel (it wasn’t in the messages I received). Viking just found out about this yesterday afternoon, so they have been scrambling.  

Edited December 4, 2021 by Mich3554

[Mich3554]

3 hours ago, deec said:

If this disembarking is delayed,  what is happening to the cruise that follows?

I’m on that cruise too.  We are arriving in Valparaíso on schedule.

[Frenchberet]

16 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

I’m sitting in Puerto del Este right now.  We aren’t ‘stuck’.  Argentina will not allow people in who have been in Africa in the last 2 weeks.  Cape Verde is considered Africa, so we are on the boat until 12/7.  Tomorrow we will sail to Montevideo, return here the day after, then go to BA.  We are moving around as docking in Montevideo is already book by someone else.

If you have a huge commitment and must get home, Viking is looking to fly people out of Uruguay.  A group flew out yesterday, and I imagine more will fly out tomorrow.

FWIW…Viking has done a spectacular job.  I have seen places that were not on my radar prior to this cruise and they now need to be revisited.  
Viking has instructed those in BA waiting to board to go to a specific hotel.  I don’t know which hotel (it wasn’t in the messages I received). Viking just found out about this yesterday afternoon, so they have been scrambling.  

Sounds like you have a great attitude.  Thank you for the info.  Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!

[Mich3554]

3 minutes ago, Frenchberet said:

Sounds like you have a great attitude.  Thank you for the info.  Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!

Thanks….this wasn’t the trip I expected.  But when we got on the plane in October, we knew that things could change on a dime.  
My husband’s old company had a mantra ‘Flexibility is a core value’.  It really helps in life too.

[coljack]

Mich,

 

In the Air Force the motto was "Flexibility is the key to air power."  (-:

[Cienfuegos]

Good thread, sounds like Viking is trying to accommodate everyone.

[kitty allen]

Buenos Aries is so great I would mind the extra day there.

 

[BuckGood]

On 12/4/2021 at 7:29 AM, uktog said:

I transferred off this cruise earlier this year (and was chided by some on the roll call for being so cautious). Boy am I glad I didn’t go. The South American authorities are challenging enough for cruise ships in non covid times. Viking took quite a gamble even going there. Looks like it’s not paid off. I’m sure those onboard with free time back home will be loving the extra time on board but anyone working or with other commitments must be really stressed out. Such a shame 

It’s such a shame you chose to cancel as a FabTabulas time was had by All! $500 OBC pp, 3 extra days on board with the Best crew! And now we just got an email saying Viking will be Refunding 50% of cruise fare in a future cruise voucher! We are Very satisfied!

[uktog]

3 minutes ago, BuckGood said:

It’s such a shame you chose to cancel as a FabTabulas time was had by All! $500 OBC pp, 3 extra days on board with the Best crew! And now we just got an email saying Viking will be Refunding 50% of cruise fare in a future cruise voucher! We are Very satisfied!

Glad it worked for you

It would not have worked for us at all - extra days onboard (or alternatively having to work with Viking to even find us early flights home from somewhere airlines are not coming to the UK from) plus the new two day quarantine rules once we got home would have been a disaster so totally glad still we cancelled.  

Edited December 10, 2021 by uktog

[Sami2]

This cruise from BA to Barcelona and now sailing on to our next ports has been a challenge. 

We had significant ports cancelled (Malaga, Casablanca, Dakar, Recife, Rio), we have been hit with Norovirus where all public toilets were closed causing us to depend on our Depends and our room toilets, we were forced to stay onboard at Buenos Aires and not tour or get off the ship due to a stop (which was a nothing stop) at Cape Verde because it is considered on the African Continent.  Argentina demanded 14 days had to pass before we docked in Buenos Aires due to the COVID variant in Africa.  We had to sail back and forth from Montevideo to Punta several times to fill our time.  After the 14 days, new passengers were allowed to board for the next part of our cruise.  Someone who boarded in Buenos Aires brought COVID with them and exposed a bunch of passengers.  We had to sail back to Montevideo (3 times now on this same cruise) and ALL exposed passengers had to get off the ship in Montevideo adding another kink in our expensive cruise.  We sailed on without the poor souls!  I sure hope nothing else happens.  This has been a challenging vacation.  Ship happens.

However, the crew is fantastic and the food is very good.  Viking is trying but the passengers are paying good money for a disappointing vacation.    

[Sami2]

Correction on above message from Sami2.  He meant Viking Jupiter started in Barcelona to Buenos Aires which was supposed to be Nov. 14-Dec. 5, 2021.  BAR to BA   (not BA to Barcelona).

And the voyage continues to Santiago.

[Mich3554]

33 minutes ago, Sami2 said:

Correction on above message from Sami2.  He meant Viking Jupiter started in Barcelona to Buenos Aires which was supposed to be Nov. 14-Dec. 5, 2021.  BAR to BA   (not BA to Barcelona).

And the voyage continues to Santiago.

You also forgot to mention that Viking has treated us more than fairly (financially) for all the glitches that are beyond their control.  I am on this cruise, and the one to Santiago so have been through it all.  
When we got onto this cruise, we knew that there were going to be problems.  We were willing to roll with the punches.  Yes, we are disappointed we missed some places, but we are more than happy with Viking’s substitutions.

BTW…..we toured BA, and there was a shuttle bus running as well.  If you didn’t like the planned excursion, taking the shuttle to a HOHO site was an option.  Viking has already mentioned they will compensate us for the glitches on this cruise too.

[bbtondo]

On 12/11/2021 at 6:34 AM, Sami2 said:

This cruise from BA to Barcelona and now sailing on to our next ports has been a challenge. 

We had significant ports cancelled (Malaga, Casablanca, Dakar, Recife, Rio), we have been hit with Norovirus where all public toilets were closed causing us to depend on our Depends and our room toilets, we were forced to stay onboard at Buenos Aires and not tour or get off the ship due to a stop (which was a nothing stop) at Cape Verde because it is considered on the African Continent.  Argentina demanded 14 days had to pass before we docked in Buenos Aires due to the COVID variant in Africa.  We had to sail back and forth from Montevideo to Punta several times to fill our time.  After the 14 days, new passengers were allowed to board for the next part of our cruise.  Someone who boarded in Buenos Aires brought COVID with them and exposed a bunch of passengers.  We had to sail back to Montevideo (3 times now on this same cruise) and ALL exposed passengers had to get off the ship in Montevideo adding another kink in our expensive cruise.  We sailed on without the poor souls!  I sure hope nothing else happens.  This has been a challenging vacation.  Ship happens.

However, the crew is fantastic and the food is very good.  Viking is trying but the passengers are paying good money for a disappointing vacation.    

I'm so sorry for what you are experiencing.  Yes, during covid you want to roll with the changes, but this seems like you've been hit with a lot.  Others have posted that Viking has been generous with compensation, but it still ruins your cruise.  Just too much....

[Ruthieofthesea]

On 12/4/2021 at 6:29 AM, uktog said:

I transferred off this cruise earlier this year (and was chided by some on the roll call for being so cautious). Boy am I glad I didn’t go. The South American authorities are challenging enough for cruise ships in non covid times. Viking took quite a gamble even going there. Looks like it’s not paid off. I’m sure those onboard with free time back home will be loving the extra time on board but anyone working or with other commitments must be really stressed out. Such a shame 

I was onboard the Jupiter for the Southern Atlantic Crossing. Most folks with jobs do not sail on extended sailing to my knowledge. We did miss almost all of the Ports, we were onboard two extra days, but! Viking made lemonaide out of Lemons and the service and food and shows were excellent. 

Viking did everything they could to make the best out of a bad situation. We stopped at two beautiful Ports and one not so nice ( Cape Verde). I am glad I sailed. I had a great time and i also booked my next Viking cruise. The stress levels were lowered by good food, great wine and just plain old fun..

[Ruthieofthesea]

On 12/4/2021 at 9:29 PM, kitty allen said:

Buenos Aries is so great I would mind the extra day there.

 

No extra days. Ship to airport to home. Those boarding were at the HIlton and most likely on lock down until they boarded the ship.

[Ruthieofthesea]

On 12/4/2021 at 2:06 PM, Frenchberet said:

Sounds like you have a great attitude.  Thank you for the info.  Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!

We shopped until we dropped in Punta Del Este, so much fun and the ice cream was excellent. My motto is "Make it work" .

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, Ruthieofthesea said:

We shopped until we dropped in Punta Del Este, so much fun and the ice cream was excellent. My motto is "Make it work" .

 

Thanks for the reports. Brilliant attitude.