Berlin Bear

55 minutes ago, julchamar said:

Greetings from Cologne to Berlin!
Any insights about the "how to"? The "Grand Fjords & Iconic Viking Shores" (Amsterdam to New York) cruise in 2024 is tempting, but I never got a response from Viking UK. Now I know why ...

This is the information (below) I received by email after our recent Viking cruise in March/April. I booked this cruise in the UK at the end of 2020, so still under pre-Brexit conditions. During the cruise we talked to the onboard cruise consultant about the issue and he confirmed that we should either „borrow“ a UK address or book directly with the US office.

I haven’t booked a new Viking cruise yet, so perhaps you can let us know how you get on.
 

„As the UK has now left the European Union, in the UK office we will no longer be able to accept reservations from those domiciled in the EU.  The reason being we are no longer able to offer any financial protection via the ATOL or ABTA Financial Protection schemes in the event of insolvency or repatriation. Under GDPR it is no longer lawful to permit free movement of personal data from the EU to the UK or any other countries outside of the EU.

 

Therefore, if you do not have a UK address, you will need to make your new booking through our US office. Their website and telephone number is as follows;

 

Website - https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/?bypass=true

 

Telephone Number - +18003049616“

9 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

I completely understand your point, but I had to smile at the reference to Canucks, Brits, Aussies and Americans as "fairly homogeneous"! 🤣   Cheers ... 🍺🥌

Sorry, no offence (spelling specially for us Brits and Canucks) meant. Let’s call it groups of passengers sharing a common basic language 😉.

5 hours ago, Nidec said:

We're in the UK and we prefer eating at 6pm. Continental Europe tends to favour later meals, particularly the southern, warmer countries. Not sure how much, if any, marketing Viking do there. I've only ever heard UK and US/Canadian voices on my Viking trips. 

Aha - you and Mrs Miggins have touched upon my pet peeve! We live in Berlin and have done 2 wonderful trips with Viking Ocean, but had to book them in the UK as there is no marketing on mainland Europe and no way of booking a Viking cruise of any sort over here. That was pre-Brexit. Since 2021, we are no longer allowed to book with the UK office - not resident in the UK, so not covered by ATOL and ABTA. Instead, we will have to book any future cruises in the US.

Therefore you will normally only encounter citizens from the US, Canada, UK and Australia on a Viking cruise. It’s called streamlining 😬, i.e. catering for fairly homogeneous groups on identical ships.

I may be biased, but Liverpool really is one of the most accessible city ports anywhere and has so much to offer - architecture, history, museums all within walking distance of the ship.

We were there just 12 days ago on a cruise with my sister-in-law who had never visited before. We took a 90-minute bus trip „city and Beatles tour“ which took us through the city centre and out to the green and leafy districts of Liverpool. Really worth the €16 we paid each.

Although it’s lovely to meet friends and relatives while cruising (we do it frequently), do try and take in some of the sights of Liverpool. The maritime museum together with the slavery museum is worth a visit, as well as a walk along Hope Street from the Metropolitan (Catholic) cathedral past the Everyman Theatre, the Philharmonic Dining Rooms (I.e. pub) with its interesting gents bathroom, past the Philharmonic Hall where Sir Simon Rattle had his first musical experiences, my old school formerly known as Liverpool Institute High School for Girls Blackburne House. Opposite that is the art college which John Lennon attended as well as the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts which was formerly the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys and attended by Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Carry on walking past the beautifully restored Georgian houses to the Anglican Cathedral which is also worth a visit. From the top of the bell tower you can get a very good view of the city centre and the other side of the river.

Whatever - enjoy!

Born and bred in Liverpool - and visited several times on a cruise ship. The ship will dock quite close to the city Centre so no need for a shuttle bus. Your friends can easily meet you at the cruise terminal.

15 hours ago, GKTV32162 said:

World Cruise Day 159/163 Scenic Scandinavia - Rønne, Bornholm, Denmark - we're Born(holm) again tourists


https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/05/world-cruise-day-159163-scenic.html

Hope you‘re enjoying Berlin today. We live in Spandau, on the western outskirts of the city. The sun is shining at the moment, but there’s a bit of rain predicted for mid-afternoon. Looking forward to your blog this evening.

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

I'm not sure that this is an actual political discussion (we aren't discussing any particular political issue) but rather a discussion of how we feel about engaging in or being subjected to any political discussion while on board the ship.

 

My response to OP is simple. My political opinions are my own and I have no interest in discussing them with other people either when traveling or at home; I'm not a debater and feel no need to defend my opinion or to be persuaded to yours. So, let's talk about something else, something we can be pleasant about.

 

However, if you are from a non-US country, I am curious about the major issues in your country and why they important and would listen to a short non-partisan explanation -- the key words here being 'short' and 'non-partisan'. What's the issue and what are the major bones of contention.

We’re from Germany and on Viking (and Celebrity) cruises have often been asked about the political system and situation here. Such conversations mainly arise out of curiosity and can be very interesting.

13 minutes ago, SLCSkier said:

I have hesitated about posting because I am so weary of talking about our situation. We were supposed to be on the May 19 Homelands sailing (third try). We were going to be traveling on our own in Norway prior to boarding the cruise so we were not required to test before leaving the USA. We are vaccinated and double boosted. The day of our flight SEA to Oslo we did a home test, I thought it was my allergies and my husband had mild cold symptoms, we both tested positive. So we needed to cancel the entire trip, we were shell shocked.

 

We live in Salt Lake but flew to Seattle a week before our flight to Oslo. We mask all the time, especially since we were getting ready for a trip. We had also limited our interaction with folks prior to leaving Salt Lake and while we were in Seattle (we have a small condo so we are able to isolate). I am sure we caught Covid it the airport or plane even though we were masked (N95) since there are very few people wearing masks and I am sure there are people with Covid that think they just have a cold.

 

We traveled last Sep-Oct, a Viking river cruise and on our own in Ireland, masking was still in effect so we had no problems. I am beyond angry that the mask mandate for public transportation was dropped, the airports are so crowded.

 

In the process of rebooking for July 2023. I don't think there was anymore that we could have done, these current strains are just so contagious.

And we are almost certain that we were infected at Heathrow airport in mid-March where we had to spend a whole day before our evening flight to Buenos Aires. We wore our FFP2 masks the whole time except for eating and drinking, which we had to do several times during the day. The majority of people around us wore no masks at all. We both tested positive 3-4 days later when we embarked the Jupiter. Spent the first 10 days of our cruise in quarantine.

10 hours ago, GKTV32162 said:

World Cruise Day 145/152 Viking Homelands - Aalborg, Denmark - Alphabetically, our first stop!

 

 

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/05/world-cruise-day-145152-viking.html

Thanks for these daily reports - I’ve been following from the very beginning and enjoying them very much.

I have to confirm that Viking is really good at this quarantining business. We (husband and I) tested positive on embarkation day on the Jupiter back in March and spent the first 10 days of a 21 day cruise on deck 3. We were very lucky to have been given neighbouring cabins (we asked whether it was possible) and we opened up the balcony divider. Service was always prompt and friendly, medical services passed by every day - sometimes twice -, and we had phone calls each day from guest services and room service to hear whether we were OK and if we needed anything. 
Ten days is a long time in a confined space and, although still testing positive, we were more than relieved to be released and be able to enjoy the rest of the cruise. Because of this relatively „positive“ experience with Viking, we have just cancelled an upcoming cruise with Celebrity after reading several reports on quarantine conditions on their ships.

So, all the best to Arlona and enjoy your day in Copenhagen - I lived and worked there from 2005 to 2016 and loved it!

7 hours ago, KBs mum said:

We booked over the phone, the itinerary was in a leaflet. We had no reason to look at the website, and we were not asked to do so by Viking. 

We also booked our March cruise over the phone with Viking UK (this is no longer possible due to Brexit!) and in the email with the final e-documents there was the following reference:

“As your embarkation date approaches, please take time to review the important health and safety requirements for your voyage in MyVikingJourney.com. Travel will feel slightly different and to ensure you are prepared - from pre-flight procedures to local regulations - we encourage you to access this information now.“

This reference probably covers Viking‘s back.

We unfortunately tested positive on embarkation day and spent 10 days in quarantine. We were treated very well considering the circumstances and told that they were applying CDC guidelines and that we would be released at the latest after 10 days, whether positive or not. In fact, we both tested positive for 12 days. As we had looked at Viking‘s information on health and safety requirements, none of this really came as a surprise.

Cancelled our Summit September cruise yesterday after having read various reports around quarantining on Celebrity. We had to quarantine for 10 days on our recent Viking cruise and had two balcony cabins and meals on proper plates!

1 hour ago, KBs mum said:

As far as I know, Germany has the strictest measures, with mandatory quarantines and masking indoors. No mandatory testing if I understood it correctly. (I accept Icould be wrong) 

 

Masking is only required on public transport and in clinics/hospitals and care homes

16 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

I am so sorry to hear about your quarantine and feel badly for you.  We are concerned about this happening and would like to be prepared in the event it does.  Could you give us tips on what we could bring that would make quarantine easier.  Early on I heard horror stories of people having to use 100% paper products and disposable tableware so their food always arrived cold with no way to heat it.  Is this what you are experiencing?  

 

Any information would be appreciated.  

I don’t know about the OP, and it will be interesting to hear what they report, but we were given menus for lunch and dinner from the restaurant every morning. We got through to room service with no problem and meals arrived in about 15-20 minutes - hot, covered and on plates. We even ordered afternoon tea from the Wintergarden.

Medical services visited once or twice a day and guest services called every day. So they were certainly looking after our well-being.

The internet worked really well during our cruise (Southern Atlantic Crossing), so having a tablet was very useful. There are lots of films and series on the TV, but to be honest I spent much of the time reading books on my kindle - out on the balcony, weather permitting.

However, please don’t underestimate how long 10 days can seem in confinement. I kept looking down to deck 2 and wishing I could walk round it all the time!

Viking does not offer compensation for onboard quarantine. We recently spent 10 days in quarantine on the Jupiter and during that time we checked up on their terms and conditions. Compensation is only offered if you are offloaded.

Having said that, we were treated very well and had no complaints. On request, we were even allocated two neighbouring cabins and opened up the balcony divider.

In contrast, Celebrity cruises are putting positive cases in ocean view cabins - we have a Celebrity cruise coming up, so I find that quite worrying.

5 minutes ago, tinaincc said:

This sounds like a good solution. Why did you get 2 cabins? Could you order food off the dining room menu or were you stuck with a limited menu etc?

We got 2 cabins because I simply asked whether it would be possible. And it was.  And I was very grateful during  the first few days as I felt a bit rough and wanted to sleep all the time. My husband just had a slight cough.

Every morning they brought the lunch and dinner menus from the restaurant and we ordered whatever we wanted from these. Never had a problem getting through to room service and food was delivered in 20-30 minutes. In contrast to Celebrity, food was served on proper plates. We even ordered afternoon tea every day 🙂. 
 

Apart from that, medical services visited every day - sometimes twice - and guest services called every day to hear if we needed anything. But I still wouldn’t like to be quarantined again and I just can’t imagine doing it without a balcony!

10 hours ago, bunzini said:

We have cruised three times this year and all has been fine.  But after reading JetBlue's thread, I am concerned about our fall New England cruise.  Honestly, if Celebrity can not let us quarantine in a cabin with a balcony, I am not sure I can be comfortable cruising.  I understand the idea if a person is so sick and needs medical attention to keep them close, but to keep someone who had a slight fever and a cough for days on end in a room with no access to outside seems punishing.  How can we expect people to report their illness if this is the treatment to expect?

Same here - also considering cancelling the Celebrity NE/Canada cruise in September and instead booking a similar itinerary with TUI Cruises which, so far, uses balcony cabins for quarantining passengers and crew.
 

Recently came off a Viking Ocean transatlantic cruise where we unfortunately had to spend 10 days in quarantine after testing positive on embarkation day. Their ships only have balcony cabins and the quarantine area is on deck 3. We were particularly lucky and were given two neighbouring cabins where we could open up the balcony divider. We were treated very well, but 10 (or even 5) days is a really long time to be restricted to a cabin, so OV is out of the question for us.

Apart from all the things to see in Barcelona, we enjoyed the restaurant El 4 Gats (4 cats) https://4gats.com 

On the Jupiter recently and disappointed that the TV did not swivel. I like to watch from the comfort of the easychair.

We have a cruise booked for September on the Summit and this report has me somewhat worried. 

We recently returned from a three week Transatlantic (Buenos Aires to Barcelona) cruise with Viking Ocean - small ships with balcony-only cabins. My husband tested positive (PCR) on embarkation day and was transferred to a balcony cabin on deck 3 in the quarantine area for passengers and crew. I tested positive the following day and was transferred to his cabin to begin with and then to the neighbouring cabin a day later. We had the balcony divider open so we could wander in and out of each other’s cabin. My husband just had a slight cough, but I had the whole head, nose, throat thing, was extremely tired and lost my appetite, so was happy to have my own space where I could sleep when I wanted for the first few days.

Internet worked very well and there were loads of films and series on the TV, which I hardly watched because I read quite a few books during that time. Medical services visited every day (sometimes twice), guest services called every day to hear how we were and whether we needed anything particular. We received the restaurant menu every morning and room services always answered the phone when we wanted to order. The longest wait for a meal was 30 minutes. And the food was served on proper crockery! We were PCR tested every day and were released after 10 days according to US CDC guidelines. We were very well looked after, for which we were very grateful, but 10 days is a long time…

We also cruise frequently with the German cruise line, TUI Cruises, and believe the quarantine area for passengers and crew is always in balcony cabins on deck 6. TUI Cruises is a very close „relative“ of Celebrity.

So there are cruise lines out there that respect passenger needs and have the right business model for current times.

I think we also have to consider the effects of reduced passenger restrictions on the crew. We recently returned from a cruise on the Viking Jupiter where we spent the first ten days in quarantine on deck 3 after having tested positive on embarkation day. We were very grateful to be able to stay on board and felt well looked after.

Returning to our original cabin after the ten days, we discovered that our housekeeping angel had been infected and gone into quarantine 4 days after us. It could, of course, be pure coincidence, but we did have a guilty conscience. I’m not sure and cruise line would allow infected crew to carry on working, especially in areas with direct contact with passengers.

5 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Unfortunately, this is consistent with all the cruises. Even when using Viking Air, if you opt to arrive early, or stay longer you do not receive transfers to/from the ship.

Agree. I don’t know of any cruise line, including the German ones which we frequently use, that would offer free (or included) airport transfers without having booked the whole package. Same with any package holiday.

TUI Cruises (the German cruise line) has announced that they are making arrangements to replace St Petersberg with Klaipeda (Lithuania), Riga (Latvia), Copenhagen and Visby (Sweden).

3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

The fact that one case on board could scuttle your whole itinerary. It only takes one government official to say, "Sorry, we don't want you here. Your permission to dock is revoked." Cruise ships are different because governments say they are.

 

 

Viking reviews the test; it is their requirement for boarding.

 

We sailed from Los Angeles at the end of December. The first thing that Viking asked for was test results and vaccination certificates. They checked the date of the test and the type of test to make sure that it conformed with the current requirement (for us two days before boarding) and that is was negative. Only after that were we permitted to proceed to the check-in desks.

 

For your own peace of mind, considering that you will be in country for 6 days prior to boarding, double and triple check with Viking whether you will need additional testing prior to boarding so that you don't yourselves scrambling to get tested on embarkation day. Make sure that you make it very clear how long you will be in town before boarding.

Agree with all you say and, in addition, and probably most importantly, we are still in the middle of a pandemic as declared by the WHO (which has universal membership) and the great majority of its member countries are still taking precautionary measures to protect their populations. A cruise ship without ports to visit becomes a bit pointless.

We’ve been on five cruises (German cruise line) since summer 2020 and have felt very safe due to testing before boarding, testing while on board and having to wear masks. And don’t forget, the cruise lines are also required to stick to the rules of the countries they are visiting. 

Funnily enough, masks are not really discussed here in Germany. People in general comply because it seems to make sense and has never really become a political debate. We’ve also done 5 cruises since summer 2020 and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. We have felt very privileged to be able to do so and very safe on all the cruises thanks to the measures.

.

Hello again, I hope you enjoyed your cruise and would love to know whether you managed to get some answers to our various questions and concerns.

I enjoyed a cruise round the Greek islands last week with a German ship (Mein Schiff 5). No customer service problems there 🙂