Will you cruise in 2022 or wait?

[Coral]

3 hours ago, slidergirl said:

 I hope it goes OK in July - this is a big bucket trip for me, from the barge trip to seeing Andrea Bocelli in Italy in the outdoor theatre in Lajatico.  

I'm just over my "O" isolation today and back to work.  5 of us and 3 of us have it - my boss finishes isolation tomorrow and one co-worker just called out sick yesterday.  I live & work in a major Winter resort and we are blowing up with "O".  Our county just put a mask mandate in place until Feb. 21 for all public indoor areas.  I sooooo love enforcing that one (NOT).  

And, my grand-neice gets married Aug 20 - they waited a year to do this.  It better be OVER for it!!

I would love to go to that concert!

 

So sorry about O. It is blowing up here also.

[Turtles06]

On 1/6/2022 at 7:28 PM, Shmoo here said:

Well......we have a Vantage tulips cruise scheduled for March.  It's the 3rd incarnation of the same cruise we were scheduled for in March of 2020, then moved to April 2021, and now this year.........and we're still waiting.  I have doubts this one will come off, just like the others.

 

 

We're in the same boat (pun couldn't be helped 🙃).  We were scheduled for Viking's Tulips & Windmills in April 2020 (a trip we'd wanted to take for years but could not because of work schedules).  Obviously, that didn't happen; we rebooked for April 2021 and now it's this year -- April 2022.  We also had planned and have re-planned to spend nearly a week pre-cruise in Amsterdam and nearly a week post-cruise in Paris.  So it's a land and river trip.   

 

It's getting much closer now, and we are having our doubts, given the current situation.  We've taken a couple of ocean cruises in the past few months, so it's not that we are opposed to traveling during the pandemic, but this would be very different.  Even if Viking goes forward, we may have many hurdles to overcome in securing the necessary approval to enter museums, etc. during the portions of our trip when we are on our own.   (We are Americans who are fully vaxxed and boostered, but right now, some of the countries we would be visiting have some obstacles; maybe that will change soon, who knows?)  I'm also concerned about the possibility of testing positive overseas and not being able to fly home (even though we let anyone fly anywhere in the U.S. without being tested or vaxxed).  So there is much to consider. 

 

Normally, I would be very excited right now about an upcoming trip like this, but it's hard to get very emotionally invested in it at the moment. 

[Lois R]

Good morning, I went on 4 cruises in 2021.......and I loved them all🙂.   I have 4 booked for this year, one of them being a river cruise in July and I am more concerned about that one than my 3 ocean cruises.  I booked a cruise with AMA on the Seine. I have done 2 previous river cruises so I know all about them but I am just not sure about doing it.......I sail solo and it is very easy for me to meet other folks. I know right now they don't allow folks to mix it up when having dinner.........and as independent as I am (VERY), I don't really want to eat dinner alone every night.......I know you have to sit with same folks each night right now.......final payment is due in April.  I will have to decide by that time.

[Bake apple]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

Even if Viking goes forward, we may have many hurdles to overcome in securing the necessary approval to enter museums, etc. during the portions of our trip when we are on our own.

I understand your concerns and we have the same.  Canada has 6 times zones so it is not as if we have no where to travel within our own country but Europe certainly has myriad historical places that are not to be missed. We have cruised three times and on two of those spent a week in Amsterdam and area on our own before we cruised. Fabulous!  At the end we stayed a week in the Budapest area and again it was so very interesting and entertaining. We are anxious to once again explore Europe on a cruise and on our own but for us this year (so far) isn't the one. Still, fingers crossed, suitcases ready and comfy walking shoes polished.

[Vineyard View]

16 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

If you're looking to maximize social distancing on a river cruise, look at the lines with the fewest passengers (= more distance and more space everywhere).  Crystal (106), Uniworld (128), Tauck (130).  Compare Viking (190).  All these ships are the same size (135m long).

Thank you Jazzbeau. That is a considerable difference and good to know 

 

I am sure hoping things calm down so we can all get excited once again about travels. 

[slidergirl]

18 hours ago, Coral said:

I would love to go to that concert!

 

So sorry about O. It is blowing up here also.

I am sooooo excited for the concert!  I extended my trip by 3 weeks when I saw the concert.  

 

O is just terrible here.   And I have some out-of-state folks who are giving me a hard time today about masking up, despite the county mandate.  One guy said "I'm just ignoring it - I've never used a mask."   I looked up where he is from - guess where - Florida...  Sigh.

[cruiselvr04]

We can’t wait to get back to the rivers but right now it may even be 2024.  I don’t want to travel with restrictions internationally so we are doing some ocean cruises in the Caribbean and Alaska until then.  Getting quarantined in a foreign country is not my idea of fun.  To us, it’s just not worth the hassle.  As soon as testing and the threat of quarantine is gone we will be back.  

[quercus alba]

We had a 2020 Christmas cruise cancelled by Viking and have been holding onto the 125% credit, but as COVID drags on, and now with the prospect of Eastern Europe being disrupted by Mr. Putin's saber-rattling, I may just cash in the 100% instead and do something completely different. Maybe save the river cruising for 5-10 years from now, if we're all still around...

[FANC6]

We just made final payment for our AMA Rhine Castles & Swiss Alps cruise on May2. We are looking forward to going but have bought insurance in case things get iffy. Hoping for the best!😀

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, FANC6 said:

We just made final payment for our AMA Rhine Castles & Swiss Alps cruise on May2. We are looking forward to going but have bought insurance in case things get iffy. Hoping for the best!😀

I have a deposit down with AMA for a July cruise.  Final payment is due in April. To be honest, I am not sure if I want to go which for me, is unreal. I sailed 4 times last year between July and Dec. But for a river cruise I know they have the hard rules about sitting with the same people every night at dinner. I sail solo and dining solo every night is not appealing to me. I don't know if they will be relaxing that particular protocol by the summer or not...........oops I posted this same reply at the beginning of this thread.......sorry for the repeated post.

[CPT Trips]

We are scheduled to depart Easter Monday for a small ship France and Italy Mediterranean cruise that was postponed from about the same time in ‘21 which was postponed from about the same time in ‘20. We were fully paid back in 2020 and remained price protected.

We plan to go, bureaucracies and travel company willing. Oh #€|| 🤬, I just realized we’ll need to get any required tests over Easter . . . that should be fun!

 

[Squawkman]

20 hours ago, quercus alba said:

We had a 2020 Christmas cruise cancelled by Viking and have been holding onto the 125% credit, but as COVID drags on, and now with the prospect of Eastern Europe being disrupted by Mr. Putin's saber-rattling, I may just cash in the 100% instead and do something completely different. Maybe save the river cruising for 5-10 years from now, if we're all still around...

I believe when you accepted the 125% you gave up your option for a cash refund.

[quercus alba]

14 hours ago, Squawkman said:

I believe when you accepted the 125% you gave up your option for a cash refund.

• "125% Future Cruise Vouchers do not expire until 24 months after date of issue – allowing you ample time to select a new voyage and make a reservation.

• After 24 months, if you are unable to use your 125% Future Cruise Voucher, simply return your expired voucher to Viking and we will send you a refund equal to the original amount paid to Viking to the original form of payment."

[Coral]

On 1/29/2022 at 2:26 PM, CPT Trips said:

We are scheduled to depart Easter Monday for a small ship France and Italy Mediterranean cruise that was postponed from about the same time in ‘21 which was postponed from about the same time in ‘20. We were fully paid back in 2020 and remained price protected.

We plan to go, bureaucracies and travel company willing. Oh #€|| 🤬, I just realized we’ll need to get any required tests over Easter . . . that should be fun!

 

I had an ocean cruise booked ending in Barcelona and then was going to transfer to Vienna. I booked this last May and ended up cancelling this in July. Even the testing requirements last summer looked impossible (Heathrow had it's own) and then trying to test on Easter between 2 Catholic countries seemed impossible at the time. I completely get this. Maybe it would be easier if I had just one booked. Good luck.

[Squawkman]

Quercus - not all Viking FCVs are created equal. OP is insistent that he can’t get a cash refund and must cruise, so I am assuming that part is correct. Regardless, when Viking cancels a cruise, an immediate cash refund option is offered for a short period of time after the announcement of the cancellation.

[quercus alba]

9 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

Quercus - not all Viking FCVs are created equal. OP is insistent that he can’t get a cash refund and must cruise, so I am assuming that part is correct. Regardless, when Viking cancels a cruise, an immediate cash refund option is offered for a short period of time after the announcement of the cancellation.

I assumed so—was merely quoting mine directly.

[winegirl]

For those who asked about travel insurance with pre-existing condition waivers that can be purchased at the time of final payment:

 

I bought policies with the help of Steve at the Trip Insurance Store which is highlighted on the CC website.

 

The policies I bought (for 2 trips in 2022) were IMG Global iTravelInsured Travel LX.

 

You can find this with a number of online travel insurance websites, and they all charge the same premium since this is a highly regulated industry.  So you don't have to beat your head against every website looking for a better price.