Possibly the end of daily testing?

[Jjg34219]

I know this is a VO board, but thought Id briefly review our Viking River cruise we just completed

We were only tested the first 3 days, of course also the test as we boarded. 
Boat capacity was 190, we sailed at 130. Normal crew on board would be 50 or so and the Program Director admitted they were short about 8. In fact our fav bartender went MIA the last 3 days

Mask wearing was mandatory while moving onboard, and required on tours, however common sense prevailed while outdoors touring

Capt did acknowledge there was positive tests Im thinking just a couple

And never were we asked to provide our pre cruise test results to anyone…we did a Viking pre extension in Switzerland

[bbtondo]

14 hours ago, AnyWayIsGood said:

Curious as to what you're referring to? I suspect that Viking has probably always attracted a more senior age group (especially since they don't allow under 18 and so that sort of rules out the typical (younger) family vacation). From my limited experience having only done two cruises, I'd say it's a very well traveled group - perhaps more destination oriented than might be the case on some other lines, however this is just a presumption on my part. I really like them alot since I don't need the casinos, photographers, etc. and like the quiet and relaxed atmosphere of the ship, but simply don't like the PCR testing. 

 

This is JMHO 

 

  I felt that there were a lot of "educated" people on the cruise 😃,  who were way more interested in every detail of a tour. The people adding their own "facts" to the Viking excursion guide. You know the students that constantly raise their hands in class and ask a million questions?  It was just a bit too much for me. I didn't experience that on the tours I did in Rome after the cruise.  I loved the Vatican Museums. Amazing!

 

Yes, older demographic for sure.  Well travelled.  Nothing wrong with that!  I'm no spring chicken, but felt that cruise life was too sedate for me. I'm not interested in big shows or casinos by the way.

 

Most of the people we spoke to liked to talk about their employment and college stories from long ago... Too much for my taste. 

 

This is what I experienced and my likes and dislikes.  I'm going on Oceania soon. I'll let you know how it is compared to Viking.

 

 

 

 

[Twitchly]

3 hours ago, bbtondo said:

This is what I experienced and my likes and dislikes.  I'm going on Oceania soon. I'll let you know how it is compared to Viking.

Please do! Oceania is one we’re looking at as an alternative while Viking continues its daily testing.

 

Interesting how cruises differ. The discussions we encountered on our only Viking cruise so far rarely brought up careers or college experiences. They were mostly about travel, in particular the many cruises everyone else had been on, and retirement activities. We hadn’t been on other cruises and we weren’t retired, so we mostly did a lot of listening. 

Edited June 3, 2022 by Twitchly

[tipsygirl]

3 hours ago, bbtondo said:

 

This is JMHO 

 

  I felt that there were a lot of "educated" people on the cruise 😃,  who were way more interested in every detail of a tour. The people adding their own "facts" to the Viking excursion guide. You know the students that constantly raise their hands in class and ask a million questions?  It was just a bit too much for me. I didn't experience that on the tours I did in Rome after the cruise.  I loved the Vatican Museums. Amazing!

 

Yes, older demographic for sure.  Well travelled.  Nothing wrong with that!  I'm no spring chicken, but felt that cruise life was too sedate for me. I'm not interested in big shows or casinos by the way.

 

Most of the people we spoke to liked to talk about their employment and college stories from long ago... Too much for my taste. 

 

This is what I experienced and my likes and dislikes.  I'm going on Oceania soon. I'll let you know how it is compared to Viking.

 

 

 

 

We are about to take our first Viking Ocean this June. Have taken 2 Oceania Cruises. I will also be interested in comparing the two. We found Oceania to have a very diverse group of travelers, in age and experience. We have another Oceania cruise scheduled for next January.

[Pegct]

Recently did Viking River cruise in France and testing done first day and repeated day before disembarking. Program director advised first evening that wearing masks onboard has proved to dramatically reduced Covid outbursts onboard. Ships that relaxed masking requirements had much higher number of  passengers affected with Covid. Another crew member mentioned that there were thermometer scans hidden in different area of ship that could identify if passenger/crew had elevated temperatures that would alert staff to do further health screening/testing if needed. Also typical tourist spots extremely crowded and very few wearing masks. Masking in crowded places and social distancing helps lower your risk of testing positive. Totally agree testing should be done on symptomatic passengers and not daily basis. Although masking not mandatory on all ships think it is personal choice  if it lowers my risk of getting infected. Would be helpful to have an information site to monitor # of Covid cases occurring on each ship. High numbers may just reflect regional increase and can allow passengers make informed decision. Taking ocean cruise in fall and hope daily testing ends by then.

[OnTheJourney]

35 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

We hadn’t been on other cruises

We're fortunate in that we live only 2+ hours from both Baltimore and Bayonne and so can grab cruises on RCL and X without having to fly anywhere. That said, if Viking was also a local port I'd probably sail with them most of the time. 

[OnTheJourney]

30 minutes ago, Pegct said:

testing done first day and repeated day before disembarking.

Most interesting that River is apparently not testing every day. Somehow didn't expect that. Why the difference compared to daily Ocean cruises?  From what is being said, less testing along with enforced masking (on River). 

 

30 minutes ago, Pegct said:

Totally agree testing should be done on symptomatic passengers and not daily basis.

Absolutely agree with this also. Great post....thanks. 

Edited June 3, 2022 by AnyWayIsGood

[jasardeax]

32 minutes ago, Pegct said:

 Another crew member mentioned that there were thermometer scans hidden in different area of ship that could identify if passenger/crew had elevated temperatures that would alert staff to do further health screening/testing if needed. 

Orwellian times,

Orwellian measures?

[CILCIANRQTS]

2 minutes ago, jasardeax said:

Orwellian times,

Orwellian measures?

Or just another conspiracy theory…

[jasardeax]

39 minutes ago, Pegct said:

 Totally agree testing should be done on symptomatic passengers and not daily basis. 

Do you think that symptomatic  passengers will voluntarily submit to a test, and live with the consequences if positive?

Do you think asymptomatic passengers will not infect others?

[CDNPolar]

1 hour ago, AnyWayIsGood said:

Most interesting that River is apparently not testing every day. Somehow didn't expect that. Why the difference compared to daily Ocean cruises?  From what is being said, less testing along with enforced masking (on River). 

 

Viking Ocean have PCR labs installed on the ship.  Viking River ships do NOT have PCR labs on the ship.  Testing must be sent to labs on shore.

 

[rizello]

48 minutes ago, jasardeax said:

Do you think that symptomatic  passengers will voluntarily submit to a test, and live with the consequences if positive?

Do you think asymptomatic passengers will not infect others?

Frankly, I’m past worrying about whether someone is going to infect me.  I am triple jabbed.  I don’t worry about it when I go to work, or to Home Depot, or to a friend’s house.    I can’t expect that we all go around testing ourselves every day if we don’t have any symptoms. I have just figured that it it is time to move into some semblance of normal.  

 

And I have been a very careful person for over two years now and tested whenever I had any symptoms or was in close contact and worn my mask when required. I am just ready to accept that I might get it at some point and that anyone vaxxed is protected from severe consequences.  I do care about giving it to others but I guess not enough to test myself every day to make sure I’m not contagious.  

[jasardeax]

28 minutes ago, rizello said:

Frankly, I’m past worrying about whether someone is going to infect me.  I am triple jabbed.  I don’t worry about it when I go to work, or to Home Depot, or to a friend’s house.    I can’t expect that we all go around testing ourselves every day if we don’t have any symptoms. I have just figured that it it is time to move into some semblance of normal.  

 

And I have been a very careful person for over two years now and tested whenever I had any symptoms or was in close contact and worn my mask when required. I am just ready to accept that I might get it at some point and that anyone vaxxed is protected from severe consequences.  I do care about giving it to others but I guess not enough to test myself every day to make sure I’m not contagious.  

Thank you for a civil and reasoned response. 
But, do you think that symptomatic  passengers will voluntarily submit to a test, and live with the consequences if positive?

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by jasardeax
Forgot part

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, AnyWayIsGood said:

Most interesting that River is apparently not testing every day. Somehow didn't expect that. Why the difference compared to daily Ocean cruises?  From what is being said, less testing along with enforced masking (on River). 

 

Absolutely agree with this also. Great post....thanks. 

There seems to be a misconception about River Boats from Viking.  They do not all follow the same testing days and don't all follow the same mask enforcements.

We experienced and talked with others on their experiences in the past month - and the policies definitely vary from ship to ship.  Some don't test after boarding until the day before the end.  Some test 1 or 2 days in and then not again, some 3 or 4 days in, some every day - and this is current.  Some ships don't do any enforcement of masking and of course passengers if they can get away with it, don't do it.  Other ships are more stern, (like ours), and frankly, with some few exceptions, people seemed fine with that.  But let's not say Viking River ships don't test every day.  That may be true in some circumstances but certainly not a policy or pervasive.  What would be interesting is to learn who at Viking makes the various decision as the ship/itinerary level (Captain?  HQ?) and what the parameters they use are (# of positives so far?  Countries they are in?)

[SailorPaulH]

10 minutes ago, jasardeax said:

Thank you for a civil and reasoned response. 
But, do you think that symptomatic  passengers will voluntarily submit to a test, and live with the consequences if positive?

 

I am in agreement with Rizello with this one.

 

I can't speak for other people but if I had symptoms I would get a test and self-quarantine as required.

 

My wife and I both work in health and health/fitness fields and we have not encountered anybody who has caught covid more than once who was fully vaccinated (I concede the possibility of exceptions) so my own take on the current situation is that Covid positives on board are first-timers or what concerns me (fully vaxxed and covid positive in the past) the most: false positives (with no re-test recourse). Also, I have seen nothing to suggest that passengers are statistically in any great danger. I see stories of dozens of people being removed (or quarantined) from many cruises on Ocean and River, but I do not see associated hospitalizations or fatalities associated with those actions. I, sincerely, believe it's time to move on.

[Pegct]

Antigen testing done on ship prior to disembarking for flight home. I would not say masking was enforced but most passengers complied traveling about ship. Did not feel restrictive and of course some of us would leave rooms, dining area and lounge forgetting mask and were never spoken too but plenty of masks available at front desk if needed. Most people willing to accept risk of Covid now but the thought of spending thousands of dollars on a vacation that might end in being quarantined is the risk most fear. Also France dropped entrance requirement for negative Covid test for vaccinated travelers. Think ocean cruises are navigating far more restrictions due to multiple countries regulation.

[CDNPolar]

13 hours ago, Pegct said:

 Think ocean cruises are navigating far more restrictions due to multiple countries regulation.

Agree...  we don't know what we don't know, and while I respect everyone's opinion, most of what is spoken here is opinion and not necessarily fact or of full knowledge of laws or regulations vs. policy of the cruise line.

 

Some will continue to sail with Viking through loyalty and despite daily testing and some because of daily testing.  Some will return to Viking when daily testing goes away, and some will not because they have found alternate lines that meet their expectations and needs.

 

The absolute best thing in all of this is we have the privilege of affording such travel and we have the privilege to choose what cruise line we want to sail.

 

I personally don't think that we should be giving a negative review of a cruise line because we disagree with their health and safety protocols that were developed at the height of the pandemic to keep us safe.  None of us "want" to go through any of this, but if the protocols of one cruise line don't meet your expectations then go elsewhere and be happy there...

[bbtondo]

Friends of mine just returned from a Viking River cruise.  They said they got tested for the first 3 days and then nothing until they had to fly home to the US.  So....  Everyone that is happy with Viking testing everyday on Ocean, would you take a Viking River cruise that only tests first three days?  I would imagine that everyone that is happy being tested every day and being kept safe, would not be OK on Viking River.  

 

 

 

[Moonlion]

26 minutes ago, bbtondo said:

Friends of mine just returned from a Viking River cruise.  They said they got tested for the first 3 days and then nothing until they had to fly home to the US.  So....  Everyone that is happy with Viking testing everyday on Ocean, would you take a Viking River cruise that only tests first three days?  I would imagine that everyone that is happy being tested every day and being kept safe, would not be OK on Viking River.  

 

 

 

Personally, I'm done with worrying about whether or not Viking requires masking and/or testing.  I'll deal with it either way.  We're choosing our upcoming cruise and vacation options based itinerary, cost and whether we like the product provided...not on Covid requirements.  I'm actually facing a bit of cognitive dissonance on the matter of masking and testing 😪.  I agree that the world needs to move on and learn to "live" with Covid; it's not going away.  I also fear that this virus has a lot more surprises in store for us. I could see a scenario where a highly contagious and lethal variant starts rapidly spreading around the world, and countries snap shut their borders again.   Hence, I'm neutral on whether masking and testing should be required (and this is from someone who recently contracted Covid and became sick).  

[Sapphire_07]

45 minutes ago, bbtondo said:

Friends of mine just returned from a Viking River cruise.  They said they got tested for the first 3 days and then nothing until they had to fly home to the US.  So....  Everyone that is happy with Viking testing everyday on Ocean, would you take a Viking River cruise that only tests first three days?  I would imagine that everyone that is happy being tested every day and being kept safe, would not be OK on Viking River.  

 

 

 

Could it be people are more apt to test positive within the first three days of boarding the ship as opposed to later on in their journey?   But why the difference in testing between river and ocean?

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, bbtondo said:

Friends of mine just returned from a Viking River cruise.  They said they got tested for the first 3 days and then nothing until they had to fly home to the US.  So....  Everyone that is happy with Viking testing everyday on Ocean, would you take a Viking River cruise that only tests first three days?  I would imagine that everyone that is happy being tested every day and being kept safe, would not be OK on Viking River.  

 

Since most positives are identified on the first few days and I believe a higher proportion of VR pax stay with Viking shore-ex, we are comfortable with this arrangement. It is still an improvement over the mega ships that have always considered cost prior to crew & pax health.

 

However, I would utilise risk-management principles to manage the slightly higher risk.

[JDincalif]

On 6/2/2022 at 5:47 PM, AnyWayIsGood said:

I have a sneaking suspicion that there is a high correlation between those Viking pax who accept and approve of the testing protocol and those who also have been longtime Viking customers and thus have that strong sense of loyalty

Our single previous Viking cruise was the March 2019 Sky voyage. Our acceptance and approval of the testing protocol is based on our own assessments of information and personal risk.

 

* There's that humorous saying: "The risk that I took was calculated, but man am I bad at math"😉

Edited June 5, 2022 by JDincalif

[DGHOC]

I'll echo what JD said. Our first Viking Cruise was on the March 2019 Viking Sky. We're scientists, we follow the science.

[OnTheJourney]

On 6/3/2022 at 11:02 AM, bbtondo said:

I felt that there were a lot of "educated" people on the cruise 😃,  who were way more interested in every detail of a tour. The people adding their own "facts" to the Viking excursion guide.

Interesting that you mention this, being that I also noticed the same thing. Certainly commendable for those that want to really dig into the details of what they're seeing, but very honestly, with my crappy memory, most of what is said during a guided tour, etc. is simply not recalled even a few days (let alone weeks) later. Hard enough remembering what I ate for dinner 3 days ago LOL  Also, I admit to focusing less on the commentary at times and moreso concentrating on taking pictures and video. DW is the journalist in the family and records details of every trip. The quiet vox devices are nice in that it allows for sort of hanging back from the group if there are still a few shots I'd like to get and  yet can still hear the guide. If there is a strong local accent, however, I tend to tune out pretty quickly. 

 

22 hours ago, Sapphire_07 said:

But why the difference in testing between river and ocean?

Agreed. Where is the "science" in testing daily on ocean but (apparently anyway) not on river?  As "scientists", what is your take on continuing to mask?  Just read that CDC is now advocating it again. Thing is, at this point you can TELL people to mask, but unless truly enforced, it ain't gonna happen. People, on the whole, are done with it. Unfortunately, they're also in too large a percentage also done with getting additional vaccination. 

 

24 minutes ago, DGHOC said:

We're scientists,

What area of science I might ask?  Just curious. So is my daughter, who throughout the pandemic has been extremely overly-cautious - and still is. I commend her for it but sometimes worry about her being a bit too obsessive and worried over it all. Taking necessary precautions is one thing, but life does goes on. So glad I retired from teaching before the pandemic came along. My hat is really off to all the teachers who have had to juggle virtual and in-school instruction. 

Edited June 5, 2022 by AnyWayIsGood