This is not a Viking review…

[FolsomMike]

It’s a review of my fellow passengers. I just completed my Venus cruise (which was lovely) last Friday. I’ve been mask wearing ‘situationally’ for some time and continued to do so on the ship; wearing one on the elevators and tenders and other crowded places.Both my wife (who wore hers pretty much all the time) and I received cracks from a few other passengers such as the ‘gentleman’ who smirked at me on the elevator and said..”I just had Covid last week!”  For two weeks, we witnessed countless passengers with horrible hacking coughs who could not be bothered to wear masks which were made available in multiple places on the ship. Less than ten percent of our fellow passengers wore masks although that number seemed to increase over the course of the cruise. 
I started feeling symptoms the day after I got off the ship and tested positive after I got home. My more careful wife tested negative (so far).

So, for anyone with an upcoming cruise, please be aware that there will probably be plenty of Covid on your ship being spread by irresponsible passengers. 

[CCWineLover]

8 minutes ago, FolsomMike said:

It’s a review of my fellow passengers. I just completed my Venus cruise (which was lovely) last Friday. I’ve been mask wearing ‘situationally’ for some time and continued to do so on the ship; wearing one on the elevators and tenders and other crowded places.Both my wife (who wore hers pretty much all the time) and I received cracks from a few other passengers such as the ‘gentleman’ who smirked at me on the elevator and said..”I just had Covid last week!”  For two weeks, we witnessed countless passengers with horrible hacking coughs who could not be bothered to wear masks which were made available in multiple places on the ship. Less than ten percent of our fellow passengers wore masks although that number seemed to increase over the course of the cruise. 
I started feeling symptoms the day after I got off the ship and tested positive after I got home. My more careful wife tested negative (so far).

So, for anyone with an upcoming cruise, please be aware that there will probably be plenty of Covid on your ship being spread by irresponsible passengers. 

FolsomMike - I am so sorry to hear that you got sick from the Viking cruise.  I truly feel for you.

We were on the Viking Venus on the cruise just prior to yours, from Greenwich to Bergen, so we got off just as you got on!  Loved Bergen!

Sadly, I must say that I 100% agree with your assessment of what is going on regarding passengers on Viking these days.  We masked and were trying to be careful but sadly, most did not.  In fact, we also encountered passengers who reveled in not wearing masks, as well as many who were obviously seriously sick who were still on excursion buses, still hacking away at the World Cafe buffet, and more.  We avoided the Star Theatre, and elevators, but it was difficult to be sure.  We were indeed surprised by the total cavalier attitude of cruise passengers.  I'm sure it is a case of COVID fatigue.   We were certain we would get it, but we must be incredibly lucky or have good immune systems, as we returned and have stayed healthy.  Probably everyone is going to get it anyway some day.  Latest news was 82% of all Americans have or have had it.

In any case - we now know that if you wish you cruise, you should know what it will be like - and then make your decisions based on that.  We had taken many cruises on Viking post COVID when masks were required and quite frankly, we felt much better then than this previous cruise.

[janetcbl]

Same experience for us on an earlier Mars cruise. We wore masks on the ship and on the excursion buses 100% of the time and stayed healthy. No one said anything (perhaps because we are in the elderly age group), but we did get many disgusted looks. I’d do it again, the exact same way.

[CDNPolar]

Some time ago, I wrote a post called:  "If you cough, cover your mouth".

 

We were on a cruise in December where everyone wore masks, but as soon as the lights were down in the Star Theatre, the masks dropped and the coughing began.   We were on a cruise in July and we experienced passengers coughing everywhere with no respect for anyone around them.  We were so dismayed at the way that passengers were coughing and not covering their mouth.  Coughing in their hands and then picking up the tongs at the World Cafe.

 

Who raised these people?  I always thought that I would be travelling with people that had a certain respect for their fellow passenger.

 

And as for those that make snide comments to those wearing masks...  Keep your comments to yourself.  Mask wearing is a personal choice as is not wearing a mask.  You have no idea what health issue anyone is dealing with and what level of anxiety the pandemic imparted on them.  Think what you want but there is no need to speak.

[longterm]

I'm glad to see that others feel the way we do when we have ventured out into the world.

 

I was sitting in a little bar in Dallas about a year ago, when most people were still wearing masks. A guy sat next to me on a barstool, turned and said, "Hey, you have Covid?"

I was taken aback, said, "No, I don't."
"Then why are you wearing a mask? I figured you must have Covid if you're wearing a mask." What an idiot. I was momentarily stunned, then thought of my reply.
"The question I would have is, why are you NOT wearing a mask?" Then I thought a moment and added, "You know what, I don't care and don't want to know," and turned my back to him. When I looked a few minutes later he had gone.

I just don't get it.

We went on a Rick Steves tour in May to France; we started out the tour with 24 in our group plus a guide. By the time our tour ended 11 days later, there were 8 left--two guides got Covid, plus one out of every couple, which meant the couple had to remain behind in whatever town we were in.

My wife and I got Covid in February; fortunately, it was mild and we recovered quickly. However, one of my good friends got Covid in January, and is on oxygen 7 months later, coughing constantly, and doesn't know if it'll ever get better.

It's NOT over, no matter how much people pretend that it is.

[TayanaLorna]

I too am so sorry you got sick from a Viking cruise.  I appreciate the candid discussion re current Viking cruises.  We have a cruise in less then 6 months and have been wondering.

 

Where we live in PR is TOTALLY different then the rest of the US.  Went to Costco today and 95% of customers and employees were masking.  It's the same all over the island other then in San Juan where the visitors go.

 

Our Iberian TA last Fall had us in Spain and Portugal for several days.  Granted there were still Viking mask mandates so most on excursions wore masks.  However I recall talking with our private Barcelona guides as well as guides on Viking excursions that we took about the difference in culture regarding masking.  They were appalled regarding the American masking resistance.  Like Puerto Rico, they believed masking protected their abeulos (grandparents) and any vulnerable members of society and were more then willing to suffer the discomfort.

 

Our next cruise is Caribbean and Amazon Adventure.  The 3 Caribbean islands we visit are very low on vaccination rates and Brazil is Latino.  They are among the vulnerable.  We plan to wear N95 masks everywhere unless we are eating and drinking.  AND we plan to eat and drink away from others.

 

Following our 13 days with Viking, we join a much smaller cruise boat to go further up the Amazon for 4 days.  We must test negative to board this boat.  It will be well past the cancellation date to get a refund if we don't.

 

I am concerned about reports of people coughing, sneezing and following the actions of 5 year olds.  I read on Vikings safety info that we or Viking crew can request a Covid test.  However I understand that if a person is coughing, sneezing etc, that Viking cannot force a person to take a Covid test.  And I cannot imagine a passenger requesting one knowing they face quarantine if positive.

 

My DH would cancel this cruise in a heartbeat if he was reading all this.  Going to order a big box of N95 masks for the cruise.  It may be the last.

 

 

[WNcruiser]

I think its common knowledge there will be Covid on any given cruise at any time. This is the risk we all take when we decide to cruise during a pandemic. With no more pre-cruise testing it is not realistic to think there wont be cases onboard. I mean no disrespect to anyone, but if you can't accept that risk you should not be cruising. 

[CCWineLover]

54 minutes ago, WNcruiser said:

 I mean no disrespect to anyone, but if you can't accept that risk you should not be cruising. 

I think we all agree on your statement.

The comments more pertain to how many of us have a disbelief in the incredulous behavior of our fellow passengers in the past months.  I never would have thought we'd have so many selfish people out cruising.  It has certainly brought out the worst in people.  Just amazed at how many.  It is just a sad commentary, apparently, on our society these days..

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

I think we all agree on your statement.

The comments more pertain to how many of us have a disbelief in the incredulous behavior of our fellow passengers in the past months.  I never would have thought we'd have so many selfish people out cruising.  It has certainly brought out the worst in people.  Just amazed at how many.  It is just a sad commentary, apparently, on our society these days..

I agree. I saw the reaction on our TA from San Juan to Barcelona. The Viking masking mandate was removed on the Friday before our Sunday disembark (Fri. April 1/Sun. April 3), and you would have thought people had just been let out of jail! We were some of the few who kept our masks on, and ate away from others. Not the least because we were going to be three days in Barcelona and three days in London before having to test to fly home. But geez, we are still masking everywhere at home now and only eating out outdoors. There’s still a pandemic on and we don’t want to get Covid!

 

We have two cruises lined up next year but are foregoing cruising the rest of this year until we see how the Covid debacle shakes out. Big mistake for Viking to do away with the mask mandate, IMO.

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, LindaS272 said:

Big mistake for Viking to do away with the mask mandate, IMO.

 

Ditto.

[Twitchly]

8 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Mask wearing is a personal choice as is not wearing a mask. 

Agreed. I respect both. My personal choice is to no longer wear a mask in most situations, but I’m not about to criticize someone who does. What purpose would that serve?
 

This bug isn’t going away; it’s part of our lives now. We each have to decide how best to live with that. 
 

 

 

 

[kcpvwill]

10 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

I too am so sorry you got sick from a Viking cruise.  I appreciate the candid discussion re current Viking cruises.  We have a cruise in less then 6 months and have been wondering.

 

Where we live in PR is TOTALLY different then the rest of the US.  Went to Costco today and 95% of customers and employees were masking.  It's the same all over the island other then in San Juan where the visitors go.

 

Our Iberian TA last Fall had us in Spain and Portugal for several days.  Granted there were still Viking mask mandates so most on excursions wore masks.  However I recall talking with our private Barcelona guides as well as guides on Viking excursions that we took about the difference in culture regarding masking.  They were appalled regarding the American masking resistance.  Like Puerto Rico, they believed masking protected their abeulos (grandparents) and any vulnerable members of society and were more then willing to suffer the discomfort.

 

Our next cruise is Caribbean and Amazon Adventure.  The 3 Caribbean islands we visit are very low on vaccination rates and Brazil is Latino.  They are among the vulnerable.  We plan to wear N95 masks everywhere unless we are eating and drinking.  AND we plan to eat and drink away from others.

 

Following our 13 days with Viking, we join a much smaller cruise boat to go further up the Amazon for 4 days.  We must test negative to board this boat.  It will be well past the cancellation date to get a refund if we don't.

 

I am concerned about reports of people coughing, sneezing and following the actions of 5 year olds.  I read on Vikings safety info that we or Viking crew can request a Covid test.  However I understand that if a person is coughing, sneezing etc, that Viking cannot force a person to take a Covid test.  And I cannot imagine a passenger requesting one knowing they face quarantine if positive.

 

My DH would cancel this cruise in a heartbeat if he was reading all this.  Going to order a big box of N95 masks for the cruise.  It may be the last.

 

 

I have to disagree about passengers not  requesting a test because they will be quarantined, because we did.  We were on Venus in June and experienced many people coughing.  7 days in we started to feel ill and requested a test.  Tested positive and went into quarantine for 5 days.  Viking nurse said they cannot ask passengers to take a test.  Perhaps more should be willing to be tested.  

[CDNPolar]

22 minutes ago, kcpvwill said:

I have to disagree about passengers not  requesting a test because they will be quarantined, because we did.  We were on Venus in June and experienced many people coughing.  7 days in we started to feel ill and requested a test.  Tested positive and went into quarantine for 5 days.  Viking nurse said they cannot ask passengers to take a test.  Perhaps more should be willing to be tested.  

Thank you.  Thank you.  But, there are many threads on CC where people blatantly state that they would not request a test in your situation because they would not want to "lose" the money they spent on the cruise being isolated to their stateroom, or worse disembarked from the ship.

 

I believe - unfortunately - that you are in the minority.  I am not saying that others would not volunteer for a test, but I am saying that many would not.

 

As we learn more and more about Covid, it is wrong IMO to just say it is a mild cold or flu.  Stats today are that 400 people a day are still dying from Covid in the USA and that is most likely an underreported stat.

 

Many people that had a mild case - and recovered -  months ago are coming up with new symptoms and Long Covid is emerging from mild cases.

 

I think that the whole focus of this thread was the selfishness of fellow passengers that were coughing and not being respectful to their fellow passengers by either wearing a mask or properly covering their mouth and nose and then washing their hands.

 

We know that cruise ships are notorious for spread of other things like Norovirus, but I was hoping that this could have been, would have been, a lesson on hand sanitation and basic coughing hygiene that would have stuck with us. 

 

Unfortunately not. 

[Travel R]

8 hours ago, Twitchly said:

This bug isn’t going away; it’s part of our lives now. We each have to decide how best to live with that. 

 

^That.

 

 

[longterm]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Thank you.  Thank you.  But, there are many threads on CC where people blatantly state that they would not request a test in your situation because they would not want to "lose" the money they spent on the cruise being isolated to their stateroom, or worse disembarked from the ship.

 

I believe - unfortunately - that you are in the minority.  I am not saying that others would not volunteer for a test, but I am saying that many would not.

 

As we learn more and more about Covid, it is wrong IMO to just say it is a mild cold or flu.  Stats today are that 400 people a day are still dying from Covid in the USA and that is most likely an underreported stat.

 

Many people that had a mild case - and recovered -  months ago are coming up with new symptoms and Long Covid is emerging from mild cases.

 

I think that the whole focus of this thread was the selfishness of fellow passengers that were coughing and not being respectful to their fellow passengers by either wearing a mask or properly covering their mouth and nose and then washing their hands.

 

We know that cruise ships are notorious for spread of other things like Norovirus, but I was hoping that this could have been, would have been, a lesson on hand sanitation and basic coughing hygiene that would have stuck with us. 

 

Unfortunately not. 

I agree--it's unfortunate--but not surprising--that people will choose not to test because they don't want their trip impacted, even though they may be spreading Covid to other passengers.

On our recent Rick Steves trip in France, the first positive case came up after about 4 days. As I mentioned in a previous post, by the end of the 11-day trip, we'd had 8 of our group test positive, and also 2 tour guides--this in spite of masking on the buses and in all indoor facilities like museums. 

There was a guy who had dined with the first positive case the night before; our tour guide asked him to test, since he'd sat across from the woman who'd tested positive; he refused, saying that he tested before the tour started and felt fine. This played out in front of others, so we all learned of it the same day, and after that nobody wanted to sit at dinner with his wife and him. 

I don't know whether they made it home without being positive, but each time someone tested positive, my wife and I self-tested, just to be on the safe side; we were fortunate to return home negative.

[eddieg07410]

19 hours ago, FolsomMike said:

It’s a review of my fellow passengers. I just completed my Venus cruise (which was lovely) last Friday. I’ve been mask wearing ‘situationally’ for some time and continued to do so on the ship; wearing one on the elevators and tenders and other crowded places.Both my wife (who wore hers pretty much all the time) and I received cracks from a few other passengers such as the ‘gentleman’ who smirked at me on the elevator and said..”I just had Covid last week!”  For two weeks, we witnessed countless passengers with horrible hacking coughs who could not be bothered to wear masks which were made available in multiple places on the ship. Less than ten percent of our fellow passengers wore masks although that number seemed to increase over the course of the cruise. 
I started feeling symptoms the day after I got off the ship and tested positive after I got home. My more careful wife tested negative (so far).

So, for anyone with an upcoming cruise, please be aware that there will probably be plenty of Covid on your ship being spread by irresponsible passengers. 

I really was hoping that Viking had a better and more considerate class of passengers, based upon price. But this world is full of idiots with money and without. I am in a similar situation as you, and prepared to eat all my meals in my cabin, go to less crowded venues, and do small tours if I have to. I am determined to enjoy this cruise and recognize the ship is just a microcosm of very bad world.

[eddieg07410]

14 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

I think its common knowledge there will be Covid on any given cruise at any time. This is the risk we all take when we decide to cruise during a pandemic. With no more pre-cruise testing it is not realistic to think there wont be cases onboard. I mean no disrespect to anyone, but if you can't accept that risk you should not be cruising. 

I don't believe the issue if the op was whether he would be exposed to covid or not, it was the failure of his fellow passengers to exercise common courtesy in this covid world.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

We were pleasantly surprised on Octantis last week.  The amount of coughing was what we would label as what you would hear pre Covid.  But....the frustration came when people were incredibly uncaring when they did cough.  When we were in the Aula for the evening briefings we were frustrated with people coughing and not stepping out. Instead they just sat there and coughed while everyone around them cringed. Same thing happened in the World Cafe. We got up and moved one evening. If you are a cougher, no matter if you don't believe you have anything contagious, just be considerate.  Especially in this Covid era think about others. 

[LindaS272]

I guess I was under the mistaken impression that Viking COULD ask you to test if exhibiting symptoms onboard. They just aren’t being quite as onerous with the length & place of quarantine, and not bothering with contact tracing. I will need to review where I thought I saw that information a couple of months ago.

[WNcruiser]

2 hours ago, eddieg07410 said:

I don't believe the issue if the op was whether he would be exposed to covid or not, it was the failure of his fellow passengers to exercise common courtesy in this covid world.

I understand their post, but that is another risk of cruising right now. You have 900 others with you that unfortunately you have no control of how they choose to act re Covid. 

You definitely need to consider all that when choosing to cruise these days. 

 

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, kcpvwill said:

I have to disagree about passengers not  requesting a test because they will be quarantined, because we did.  We were on Venus in June and experienced many people coughing.  7 days in we started to feel ill and requested a test.  Tested positive and went into quarantine for 5 days.  Viking nurse said they cannot ask passengers to take a test.  Perhaps more should be willing to be tested.  

 

Congratulation on having and displaying a sense of responsibility, after reading through this thread of other's experiences, it was most refreshing to read your post.

 

While Viking may not require pax displaying symptoms to take a test and the medical staff probably don't have that authority either, the Master most definitely does have that authority. Even if Viking doesn't address the issue in their Safety Management System, the ISM Code Section 5.2 provides the Master with overriding authority and responsibility to make decisions with respect to safety.

 

The UN addresses the management of infectious diseases, as a safety issue, so the Master has the overriding authority, and I'll suggest most importantly the responsibility to ensure that everyone displaying symptoms is tested and quarantined, if positive. Isolation has always been considered the first defense against managing an infectious disease outbreak.

 

This has been in place for many years when dealing with infectious diseases, why should it be any different for COVID.

 

Yes, we all need to accept this disease is still present and based on our risk tolerance, whether we are comfortable in cruising at this time. I will also state that those that do elect to cruise should accept the fact that if they display symptoms, the ship has the right to test them, and they must quarantine, if positive. When displaying clear symptoms, you should not have the right to infect others.

[CCWineLover]

24 minutes ago, WNcruiser said:

I understand their post, but that is another risk of cruising right now. You have 900 others with you that unfortunately you have no control of how they choose to act re Covid. 

You definitely need to consider all that when choosing to cruise these days. 

 

True indeed.

We are not going to change stupid and selfish people.  It is just a fact that sadly our society that is cruising now is emblematic of society as a whole.  It's all about me.  And no doubt COVID exasperated that trend.

We just have to face that cruisers for the most part are going to be this way and then make our own decisions on whether we want to be on a ship with them and/or if we can tolerate it enough by avoiding them, finding our own space, and enjoying the fabulous crew and the few others who think and behave the way we do.  End of story.

[Haqdeluxe]

1 hour ago, LindaS272 said:

I guess I was under the mistaken impression that Viking COULD ask you to test if exhibiting symptoms onboard. They just aren’t being quite as onerous with the length & place of quarantine, and not bothering with contact tracing. I will need to review where I thought I saw that information a couple of months ago.

I think their policy now is as you said above. They COULD, as in MIGHT, chose to ask you to test as opposed to INSISTING/DEMANDING you test if your exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms. I think Viking is not wanting to be overly confrontational, even though they perhaps should be more so than they are. 

[LindaS272]

Agreed.

[TayanaLorna]

6 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

I guess I was under the mistaken impression that Viking COULD ask you to test if exhibiting symptoms onboard. They just aren’t being quite as onerous with the length & place of quarantine, and not bothering with contact tracing. I will need to review where I thought I saw that information a couple of months ago.

Linda, I also thought Viking had the right to ask someone to take a test for Covid and they do indeed.  It is in Passenger Ticket Contract under 11. Public Health Section d. COVID 19 Policies and Procedures.  Viking "may" ask a passenger to test for Covid.  Viking "may" also require masking, contact tracing, completion of health declarations, temperature checks and more.  Section e. Outlines the consequences of noncompliance.  This info is from a document sent to us for our next cruise so if is not out of date.  I also thought i saw it elsewhere but have not found that source.