Testing positive before cruise

[Ceegeefl]

Does anyone know what Viking does if you test positive before the cruise?  I'm wondering if you get a voucher for a future cruise or if the insurance through Viking reimburses you.

[earlvolfan]

11 hours ago, Ceegeefl said:

Does anyone know what Viking does if you test positive before the cruise?  I'm wondering if you get a voucher for a future cruise or if the insurance through Viking reimburses you.

My wife tested positive before our Northern Lights cruise in January and we got a complete refund (minus the cost of insurance) about 30 days after filing the claim with TripMate.

 

After reading the cruise contract, I tried to get Viking to refund the fare under the terms of the contract, but they pushed me to file an insurance claim first, only promising me that they would reimburse me for any shortfall of the insurance claim, which there wasn't.

Edited May 8, 2022 by earlvolfan

[Ceegeefl]

10 hours ago, earlvolfan said:

My wife tested positive before our Northern Lights cruise in January and we got a complete refund (minus the cost of insurance) about 30 days after filing the claim with TripMate.

 

After reading the cruise contract, I tried to get Viking to refund the fare under the terms of the contract, but they pushed me to file an insurance claim first, only promising me that they would reimburse me for any shortfall of the insurance claim, which there wasn't.

Thank you very much for that information.   That is very good to know if that happens.

[nextariel]

Has anyone tested positive prior to boarding that did not have Insurance? We are under the one time Risk Free Guarantee and have our own insurance for on the trip. We are going out of Canada, so it is still necessary to test. 

[CDNPolar]

1 minute ago, nextariel said:

Has anyone tested positive prior to boarding that did not have Insurance? We are under the one time Risk Free Guarantee and have our own insurance for on the trip. We are going out of Canada, so it is still necessary to test. 

READ THE DETAILS of your RISK FREE GUARANTEE very carefully.  There were two that I know of.   Cancel up to 24 hours before and cancel up to 14 days before.  We have had both of these RISK FREE GUARANTEEs.  If you have the 24 hour risk free guarantee, then if I am correct, you can cancel for any reason for a full credit voucher as long as you cancel a minimum of 24 hours before.  You don't need cancellation insurance with this one time guarantee.  Same with the 14 day - but the cancellation must be up to 14 days before.

 

As soon as you cross the threshold and are within 24 hours or within 14 days, then you lose the value of the guarantee and you must then rely on cancellation insurance that you purchased separately.  AND that cancellation insurance must cover covid positive as a cancellation reason.

[nextariel]

1 minute ago, CDNPolar said:

READ THE DETAILS of your RISK FREE GUARANTEE very carefully.  There were two that I know of.   Cancel up to 24 hours before and cancel up to 14 days before.  We have had both of these RISK FREE GUARANTEEs.  If you have the 24 hour risk free guarantee, then if I am correct, you can cancel for any reason for a full credit voucher as long as you cancel a minimum of 24 hours before.  You don't need cancellation insurance with this one time guarantee.  Same with the 14 day - but the cancellation must be up to 14 days before.

 

As soon as you cross the threshold and are within 24 hours or within 14 days, then you lose the value of the guarantee and you must then rely on cancellation insurance that you purchased separately.  AND that cancellation insurance must cover covid positive as a cancellation reason.

Only has 14 days prior if you have Viking Air. There is nothing about COVID. The "COVID Policies and Procedures" has a secondary testing which does say you can rebook or cancel in line with there policies. However it does not mention if you need to have their insurance. 

Hoping it is not an issue. 

[CurlerRob]

4 hours ago, nextariel said:

Only has 14 days prior if you have Viking Air. There is nothing about COVID. The "COVID Policies and Procedures" has a secondary testing which does say you can rebook or cancel in line with there policies. However it does not mention if you need to have their insurance. 

Hoping it is not an issue. 

Could you clarify what your question is? Your original Q was aimed at people who tested positive but did not have insurance - you seem to be referencing the RFG and some other information now.

 

FYI - my current 14-day RFG starts the 14-day clock differently depending if you are using Viking Air (14 days before flight) or booking yourself (14 days before boarding / Viking hotel). The bottom line is that I can only use the RFG up to 14 days before Viking "assumes" responsibility for me -  by flight/hotel/ship. That may be the source of your Viking Air comment?

 

As @CDNPolar said, if you exercise your RFG within it's time limits, you get a voucher. It does not matter why you exercise the RFG - Covid or other reasons. If you are past the RFG timings that apply, then you would need to turn to your insurer for a claim - and that's when Covid protection might be needed (as opposed to another covered reason).

 

To your original question, if you test positive prior to boarding and you are past the RFG terms and have no insurance, you are out of luck - Viking has no responsibility for that.🍺🥌

[CDNPolar]

19 hours ago, nextariel said:

Only has 14 days prior if you have Viking Air. There is nothing about COVID. The "COVID Policies and Procedures" has a secondary testing which does say you can rebook or cancel in line with there policies. However it does not mention if you need to have their insurance. 

Hoping it is not an issue. 

Not sure I exactly understand the question here.

 

The RFG - whether it is 14 days or 24 hours - is an opportunity for you to "cancel" for any reason.  There is no restriction on that reason.  You can simply decide you don't want to go.  I put "cancel" in " " because,  you don't get a refund, you get a voucher for the value of the cruise to use at a later date.

 

If we are talking about the same thing then you don't need to have insurance on top of that RFG, as that guarantee gives you complete freedom.  

 

Perhaps better to refer to the limited time that Viking offered these RFG's as an option to delay or postpone your cruise and my bet is their motivation on this was to help folks to deal with their Covid fears.  You are not cancelling, you are just moving your trip.

[les37b]

On 9/10/2022 at 7:57 PM, CurlerRob said:

if you test positive prior to boarding and you are past the RFG terms and have no insurance, you are out of luck - Viking has no responsibility for that.

 

But they are not cancelling. Viking would be refusing boarding.

[biggerbearmom]

I’m sure many of you already know this, (I didn’t until it happened to me)

but if you test positive while on a cruise and are quarantined to your room,  you are entitled to a FCC for the days while quarantined. We were on the Viking Mars, Majestic Iceland itinerary two weeks ago and we contracted Covid with symptoms. I was actually quite sick and we were quarantined for 5 days. Viking was very generous with their compensation and we had the voucher the day after our info was submitted.

[les37b]

47 minutes ago, biggerbearmom said:

I’m sure many of you already know this, (I didn’t until it happened to me)

but if you test positive while on a cruise and are quarantined to your room,  you are entitled to a FCC for the days while quarantined. We were on the Viking Mars, Majestic Iceland itinerary two weeks ago and we contracted Covid with symptoms. I was actually quite sick and we were quarantined for 5 days. Viking was very generous with their compensation and we had the voucher the day after our info was submitted.

 

Which is why it's better to get on board without a test... Get quarantined.... Enjoy your food and booze on your balcony... Get your money back...

 

Vice sorry no refund, speak to your insurance company.

 

My wife caught it on day 10 of 16 nights on SS... As she said... There are worse places to isolate! She got 10 days pro rata back...  I got 3 ... And we were on the ship for 25 nights in the end. (At the time, Ecuador wanted to quaranti e for 14 nights .. on top of the 6 shed already done, hence the overstay )

[Peregrina651]

On 9/10/2022 at 10:08 AM, nextariel said:

Hoping it is not an issue. 

 

Hoping is an expensive gamble, especially if you are opting not to buy insurance. This is one of those times where I would contact Viking directly and ask them how it would be handled. This is not a time to "phone a friend" or "poll the audience."

 

I suggest skipping the call center and starting a bit further up the ladder. Email Viking at tellus@vikingcruises.com. Include your booking number and a phone number, along with your questions.

[CurlerRob]

20 hours ago, les37b said:

 

But they are not cancelling. Viking would be refusing boarding.

@nextariel mentioned that they are sailing out of Canada. Canada requires pre-embarkation testing - if you test postitive, it's not Viking (or any other line) that is refusing you boarding - it's the country regs. 🍺🥌

[les37b]

1 hour ago, CurlerRob said:

@nextariel mentioned that they are sailing out of Canada. Canada requires pre-embarkation testing - if you test postitive, it's not Viking (or any other line) that is refusing you boarding - it's the country regs. 🍺🥌

 

My reply was not specific to any individual and the OP hasn't stated their departure point. 

 

Yes, Canada and Athens Greece, I'm aware still require a test pre embarkation. There may be some others too and rules change, but generically, for the rest of the world a pre test isn't required, my point stands.

 

And yes for the record, I agree in the instance for the individual you have quoted, refusal of boarding would not be an instruction from Canada which Viking has no say in.