Live from the Viking Star World Cruise 2021-22

[GKTV32162]

World Cruise Day 80/152 - Sea Day - How to COVID test 970 people daily in 700 easy steps...

 

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-cruise-day-80152-sea-day-how-to.html

[Twitchly]

4 hours ago, GKTV32162 said:

World Cruise Day 80/152 - Sea Day - How to COVID test 970 people daily in 700 easy steps...

 

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-cruise-day-80152-sea-day-how-to.html

Very interesting! I definitely want one of those steamer dummies!
 

Once cruises are back up to capacity, I can’t imagine how they will handle testing 900+ passengers plus crew, every single day. And then there’s the initial embarquement while everyone is waiting in their rooms. Yikes.

[florafun]

When we embarked in Fort Lauderdale last Wednesday, March 9, we had to give a saliva sample for testing but we did not have to wait in our cabin for the results. We were told that we could go about the ship right after we provided our sample. Daily saliva samples are still being collected along with temperature checks and filling out the health survey. Masks are now "strongly recommended" onboard but not mandatory. Masks are required though when going ashore.

[florafun]

When we embarked in Fort Lauderdale last Wednesday, March 9, we had to give a saliva sample for testing but we did not have to wait in our cabin for the results. We were told that we could go about the ship right after we provided our sample. Daily saliva samples are still being collected along with temperature checks and filling out the health survey. Masks are now "strongly recommended" onboard but not mandatory. Masks are required though when going ashore.

[stretchcruz]

 

 

4 minutes ago, florafun said:

When we embarked in Fort Lauderdale last Wednesday, March 9, we had to give a saliva sample for testing but we did not have to wait in our cabin for the results. We were told that we could go about the ship right after we provided our sample. Daily saliva samples are still being collected along with temperature checks and filling out the health survey. Masks are now "strongly recommended" onboard but not mandatory. Masks are required though when going ashore.

We embark the Orion on March 23 and we sure hope that we aren't in cabin lockdown after the PCR tests. It's my birthday, we have reservations at Manfredi's at 6:30, so we are hoping for the best. Masking doesn't bother us, in fact I prefer it, so that's not going to be a problem. Hopefully your cruise will remain covid free and we will be under the same rules!!

Just realized this is the World cruise thread, didn't mean to get off topic, but I think he was addressing your blog about the laboratory, which was extremely interesting!!

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by stretchcruz

[Hark33]

15 hours ago, GKTV32162 said:

World Cruise Day 80/152 - Sea Day - How to COVID test 970 people daily in 700 easy steps...

 

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-cruise-day-80152-sea-day-how-to.html

Very interesting and informative report on the COVID testing on Viking Ocean ships, as well as the laundry operation. Thank you

[TayanaLorna]

12 hours ago, Twitchly said:

Very interesting! I definitely want one of those steamer dummies!
 

Once cruises are back up to capacity, I can’t imagine how they will handle testing 900+ passengers plus crew, every single day. And then there’s the initial embarquement while everyone is waiting in their rooms. Yikes.

Our Iceland cruise in July had 870+/- passengers and a full crew compliment and testing was completed every day with no problem.  The only hitch came when test results were needed for disembarkation.  They could not process the final days morning tests and have the printed results delivered to our staterooms by bedtime.  Our departure test results were from the 2nd to the last day.  If you were staying for another day you could request final day results so you could be within the 72 hour requirement when you flew home.

[GKTV32162]

World Cruise Day 81/152 - Kotor, Montenegro - Follow Me to Montenegro

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-cruise-day-81152-kotor-montenegro.html

[PasadenaDave]

16 minutes ago, GKTV32162 said:

World Cruise Day 81/152 - Kotor, Montenegro - Follow Me to Montenegro

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-cruise-day-81152-kotor-montenegro.html

Fortunately your blog does not have a sign "Private Do Not Read"!

[GKTV32162]

6 minutes ago, PasadenaDave said:

Fortunately your blog does not have a sign "Private Do Not Read"!

Ha!

[GKTV32162]

6 minutes ago, PasadenaDave said:

Fortunately your blog does not have a sign "Private Do Not Read"!

Ha!

[SteelCity Cruiser]

Your photos and descriptions has me intrigued!  Montenegro might have worked it's way onto my list of places to visit now.

 

[ilikeanswers]

2 hours ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

Your photos and descriptions has me intrigued!  Montenegro might have worked it's way onto my list of places to visit now.

 

Montenegro is a very underrated country. We did a road trip there seven years ago and from coast to the mountains it is a very spectacular country (from the photos doesn't look like much has changed in Kotor) and the food some of the best we had in the Balkans. I am always amazed how few people have heard of Montenegro, it is like Europe's best kept secret. 

[RGfromPA]

On 12/27/2021 at 4:41 PM, JM0115 said:

We have been told that there are roughly 744 passengers leaving Fort Lauderdale with approximately 300-400 passengers continuing on the World Cruise. We will pick up another 300-400 in Los Angeles to make a total of 650 or so going on the rest of the world cruise with us. 

 

There have been approximately 10 positive cases on board thus far (this number is an approximation). We are hopeful that there will be no more cases. Fingers crossed!

We are booked on Viking World Cruise LA to London Jan 2023 and need to decide by May if we will still go. I am very concerned about Viking Covid Policy:

 

Guests with a positive COVID-19 test will be isolated on board. Should the destination where the ship is located require those who test positive be disembarked, Viking will arrange for the guest to recover ashore before returning home once their recovery is complete. Upon their return home, Viking Customer Relations will contact the guest and their travel advisor directly regarding any necessary refunding or rescheduling.

Do you know what happened to the 10 passengers? were they booted off?

 

Any information will be helpful 

 

Thank You 

RG

On 12/27/2021 at 4:41 PM, JM0115 said:

 

 

[RGfromPA]

We are booked on World Cruise Jan 2023 LA to London. Need to decide by May 1 if we will still go. 

Very concerned about this following Viking policy:

 

Guests with a positive COVID-19 test will be isolated on board. Should the destination where the ship is located require those who test positive be disembarked, Viking will arrange for the guest to recover ashore before returning home once their recovery is complete. Upon their return home, Viking Customer Relations will contact the guest and their travel advisor directly regarding any necessary refunding or rescheduling.

 

Has anyone been kicked off for Covid while on the Cruise?

 

Any information will be appreciated

 

Thank You

 

RG.

 

 

[ldpetrillo]

50 minutes ago, GKTV32162 said:

The only people that were removed were the folks that tested positive immediately after embarking in Ft. Lauderdale and misrepresented their status - they had recently had COVID.  Everyone else has been isolated until clear and is continuing the cruise.  One passenger with COVID elected to get off in LA due to other health issues that were complicating the COVID situation. Another tested positive right before embarking in LA and joined the cruise later after recovering.

 

My advice is simple.  If you're concerned, cancel.  It is what it is and fretting over it will ruin your trip.  Accept it for what it is, go, and enjoy life, or worry about it and stay home.  If we had chosen the later, we never would have seen the amazing things we have seen so far.  It is a choice.  Make it and live with it.  Stop worrying. It does no good.  Harsh words, I understand, but make a decision and move on.  There's no point in worrying.  We are having a great time.

I believe he was concerned about getting booted off during the cruise and not for getting Covid. We all took a chance on this cruise and so far it has been great. Wearing a mask is not a violation of our freedom nor is it any kind of a burden. A real burden would be living in Ukraine and trying to keep your family safe. Our so called problems are nothing in comparison. 

[SJD117]

2 hours ago, GKTV32162 said:

The only people that were removed were the folks that tested positive immediately after embarking in Ft. Lauderdale and misrepresented their status - they had recently had COVID.  Everyone else has been isolated until clear and is continuing the cruise.  One passenger with COVID elected to get off in LA due to other health issues that were complicating the COVID situation. Another tested positive right before embarking in LA and joined the cruise later after recovering.

 

My advice is simple.  If you're concerned, cancel.  It is what it is and fretting over it will ruin your trip.  Accept it for what it is, go, and enjoy life, or worry about it and stay home.  If we had chosen the later, we never would have seen the amazing things we have seen so far.  It is a choice.  Make it and live with it.  Stop worrying. It does no good.  Harsh words, I understand, but make a decision and move on.  There's no point in worrying.  We are having a great time.

You frame the issue as a black-and-white choice ("cancel" or "stop worrying and enjoy life"). That's an incomplete picture IMO.

 

Like RG, I'm concerned about Viking's Covid policy due to the potential consequences if I test positive while on the ship. But that doesn't mean I need to cancel my upcoming cruise -- nor do I plan to do so. Instead, I will manage my risk of contracting Covid -- and the risk of suffering these consequences -- by wearing a mask diligently and by avoiding crowds on the ship. With these precautions, I will be able to "enjoy life" onboard.

Edited March 15, 2022 by SJD117

[GKTV32162]

7 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

You frame the issue as a black-and-white choice ("cancel" or "stop worrying and enjoy life"). That's an incomplete picture IMO.

 

Like RG, I'm concerned about Viking's Covid policy due to the potential consequences if I test positive while on the ship. But that doesn't mean I need to cancel my upcoming cruise -- nor do I plan to do so. Instead, I will manage my risk of contracting Covid -- and the risk of suffering these consequences -- by wearing a mask diligently and by avoiding crowds on the ship.

Well, that's the beauty of opinions, we don't all have to share one. My opinion is that worrying or being concerned about the policy accomplishes nothing, therefore, I choose to not worry or be concerned about it. I understand it. I can't change it. I accept it. I'm cruising and will deal with it if/when anything happens. That's what I was saying. 

[SJD117]

Just now, GKTV32162 said:

Well, that's the beauty of opinions, we don't all have to share one. My opinion is that worrying or being concerned about the policy accomplishes nothing, therefore, I choose to not worry or be concerned about it. I understand it. I can't change it. I accept it. I'm cruising and will deal with it if/when anything happens. That's what I was saying. 

You were admonishing RG for being concerned. You were also suggesting that he/she stay home because of that concern. That's where you and I differ.

[Dukefan]

How about we get back to sharing what's going on with the world cruise!

 

[Jim Avery]

59 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

You frame the issue as a black-and-white choice ("cancel" or "stop worrying and enjoy life"). That's an incomplete picture IMO.

 

Like RG, I'm concerned about Viking's Covid policy due to the potential consequences if I test positive while on the ship. But that doesn't mean I need to cancel my upcoming cruise -- nor do I plan to do so. Instead, I will manage my risk of contracting Covid -- and the risk of suffering these consequences -- by wearing a mask diligently and by avoiding crowds on the ship. With these precautions, I will be able to "enjoy life" onboard.

Were those quarantined wearing a mask and spitting in tubes daily??

[GKTV32162]

29 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Were those quarantined wearing a mask and spitting in tubes daily??

Yes. Masks are required on the ship and on excursions. Spitting into the tube is how they were identified a having COVID.  Everyone in the ship, passengers and crew, are tested daily.

[DGHOC]

Goodness me this is getting old now!

 

Can we just accept there are those that believe it's too early to stop taking precautions. Clearly Viking falls into this camp. It's their decision to manage their business the way they see fit. If folk don't like that they should take their business elsewhere no matter how many world cruises they have booked.

 

Sarcastic remarks about  masks not working, testing not working and belittling comments about the anxiety of others achieves nothing on this Viking forum, aside from disharmony. Folk feel under attack for expressing their concerns. This is mostly directed at other threads but it's the same names who pop up time and time again.

 

This is a great thread and many of us are enjoying living vicariously with these intrepid travellers. Thank you GKTV for sharing your experience with us all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JM0115]

Regarding the discussions above on Covid. As GKTV said, at the beginning of our cruise, we had the understanding that we would be booted off the ship if we contracted covid (or tested positive or possibly even inconclusive). That was clarified and we were told that we would be put into quarantine on the ship. For me, this was welcome news as my biggest concern before getting on the world cruise was that one of us would get covid and get thrown off the ship. Yes, it would suck if we got covid and had to quarantine but to me it was much better than having to leave the cruise. Of course, I still do not want to get covid and my wife and I follow all protocols required including mask wearing, washing our hands, and as much as possible avoiding crowded places indoors on independent exploration. It has not detracted from our experience. Yes, saliva samples daily are a pain, but we are so used to masks at this point that it is more or less routine. Those things do not detract from our experience. What has detracted is when we are not allowed to have independent exploration which was the case for all of the cruise before reaching Europe. For example, tomorrow we reach Venice and are not allowed independent exploration due to Italian regulations - that is a big bummer especially as we are here overnight and because Venice is so special. If I was booked on a future world cruise I would hope that covid is either over or just accepted as endemic and that the things that we have to do are no longer being done although I would not cancel even if all of the things we have had to do were still required.  I would also hope that there would be no restrictions regarding independent exploration. All that being said, we have been having an experience of a lifetime and do not regret in any way going on this remarkable cruise. We are at day 82 and cannot believe how great it has been nor how fast the time has gone by. We feel extremely lucky to have had this opportunity. A world cruise (which others who have been on one already know) is something different and special. Mainly it is because we have had the time and opportunity to meet and gotten to know so many wonderful people, passengers and crew. You cannot do this on a regular cruise and it is extremely unique. The officers and crew on board have done everything that they can do to make it as special as they can make it! 

[GKTV32162]

World Cruise Day 82/152 - Split, Croatia - 101 Dalmatians started here - and we saw a Great Tit!

 

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-cruise-day-82152-split-croatia.html