jasardeax

For all future VO cruises, if Viking did away with daily testing and you were experiencing COVID symptoms, would you; A. Request a voluntary Covid test from Viking, and live with the consequences. B. Self quarantine in your cabin and hope symptoms faded or, didn’t worsen. C. Do nothing and continue as normal with your cruise. D. Something else? If the USA did away with testing before flying home from a foreign country, and you were experiencing COVID symptoms, would you; 1. Get a COVID test and not fly if you tested positive. 2. Just fly back to the USA anyway. 3. Something else?

We were very fortunate to be the only ship in Vancouver harbor for our embarkation on May 3rd for the Alaska and the Inside Passage cruise. Ship only had 485 passengers. We were onboard by 10:30 AM We were around Canada place the day before when there were 3 ships in the harbor. Area around Canada Place was very busy.

I have been a proud Political Atheist for many years, and have stated that many times when a discussion becomes political. “We live in a political worldUnder the microscopeYou could travel anywhere and hang yourself thereYou've always got more than enough rope”

Would you please state your source for this statement.

Surprised that you weren’t asked for test result before boarding. We were on a recent Alaska cruise, and so were others who checked in at the same time as us. Not surprised that you weren’t give boarding or daily test results. You would only be advised if tested positive.

Thank you for such a thoughtful and civil post. I certainly hope that anyone who is on any cruise would feel the same way.

It makes NO difference if you are using Viking Air or not. We used Viking Air for a recent cruise to Alaska, however we requested to arrive in Vancouver several days before our cruise to travel independently in Vancouver. We were then subject to getting a PCR test 72 hours before, or an Antigen test 24 hours before our first activity with Viking, which was Boarding the ship. We got the AntiGen test done in Vancouver the day before embarkation.

We used https://covidtravelvancouver.ca Quick and easy. We went the day before embarkation. Had the hard copy and email of the test result in a 1/2 hour We had shipmates who used the one at the Fairmont Hotel

The last leg of our flight was from LAX to Vancouver via United. They announced on board that masks were optional to wear, but just before we landed in Vancouver they reminded everyone that a mask must be worn in the terminal. We stayed in Vancouver for a couple of nights on our own Pre cruise, and got an Antigen test in Vancouver the day before boarding. Loved Vancouver. Best wishes for a great cruise!

Norwegian Salmon only. But, excellent halibut and sea bass were on the menu in various forms several times. Great halibut was the main entree on one of the Chefs table menus. Also Dover sole, soft crab appetizer, and seafood chowder. There was a destination menu one evening in the Restaurant that featured sea bass. No king crab legs or Dungeness crab. Plenty available on shore.

We are back from this voyage. Overall experience was very good, and we thought that overall, the service from the crew was just as good as previous 3 VO cruises. Only 485 passengers onboard. The daily testing requirement was only a slight inconvenience, and it was easy to fall into this morning routine. Food was, as usual, very good. For us the Chefs Table stood our (dined there 4 times), The Restaurant had some hits and misses, but mostly hits.Manfredi’s was, once again, disappointing. Excursions were varied, and appeared to be very well run. The ones we were on were fun and a decent value. Didn’t do any seaplane ones, but several couples we talked to raved about them. Entertainment in the Star Theater, the lounge, Explorers Lounge, and Atrium was good. Mask wearing was, I would estimate, less than 10%, and brings up the only real negative of this cruise. We were “mask shamed” on two different occasions. Once in the Star Theater, when we were just being seated, by a group of 2 couples behind us. One of the men said very loudly, “Oh God, here comes those two with the face diapers on” The rest of the group responded with uproarious laughter. The other time was in the elevator with 2 women who felt it was necessary to confront me and tell me that face masks did no good and I was misinformed if I believed otherwise. I didn’t respond to either occurrence. Why do people feel it’s OK to act that way. If I choose to wear a mask how does that distract from their cruise experience? Anyway, in spite of these two occasions, we found our shipmates to be a very friendly group of interesting travelers.

Just back from Viking Orion cruise to Alaska from Vancouver. We arrived in Vancouver, independently, several days before the cruise. Got an Anti-Gen test the day prior to the cruise in Vancouver. PCR spit test as soon as we boarded, and PCR spit test every morning of the cruise. Only a very slight inconvenience.

If you can take risk of traveling during COVID, why can’t you take the risk of testing positive? Wouldn’t you prefer to know if you or any of your shipmates had COVID?

On Orion now. We have been doing our saliva tests in the morning, leaving the completed ones in our cabin, and going to breakfast around 8 AM. When we return they have been picked up. Assume sometime between 8 and 9 AM. We haven’t really noticed any sitting outside of stateroom doors. As far as we can tell, pickup has been very efficient.

Cruising through Prince William Sound was very picturesque. Get up early to enjoy it. The Columbia Glacier excursion should be spectacular. We didn’t take it and just did Valdez on your own. 3 interesting museums shuttle bus between them, or not a difficult walk.

Icy Straight Point yesterday. Gondolas were fun. Great picture taking ops. Sailed past Hubbard Glacier this morning, spectacular! Sea Day, but ship still feels empty with only 485 aboard.

We are currently on the Orion. We enjoyed an included tasting of 5 ”Old World Wines” on our second day onboard. The tasting was well done with 3 different wine stewards doing the presentation. It was included with the SSBP, $30 each without the SSBP

Not really doing a detailed trip report, but if there is anything you would like to know about the cruise or the ship, I will try to answer. In Icy Straight Point today. Supposed to be 53 degrees by noon. Just doing the included excursion, “Hoonah on your Own” today.

Many shore excursions offered at each port. Great variety from Sea Plane tours, very active tours like zip lining, 4x4’s, Kayaking, to easier tours like railroad ride, general sightseeing, etc. Most tours have been available, even for late booking.

With only 485 mostly old passengers onboard, the vibe on the ship has been very laid back. Shows and lounge guitarist/singer have been entertaining. The crew, for the most part, have been doing an excellent job. Few minor missteps, toiletries not restocked in bath, bed made with still damp sheets out of the dryer too soon, wrong drinks delivered to our table. These missteps were resolved quickly. Spitting in a tube every morning, not pleasant, but not that big an inconvenience.

So far we have had dinner at; The Restaurant- 2 nights. Menu choice and quality were good. Sea bass was a big hit. The Chefs Table - 2 nights Had the Asian menu for the first dinner. Consisted of chilled crab (excellent) dumplings (good) duck (very good) We had no problem snagging a second reservation. This was the California Cuisine dinner. Very good overall with an excellent halibut as the main course. Manfredi’s - 1 night Even though our experience with Manfredi’s had not been good on 3 previous cruises, we decided to give it another try. We were once again disappointed. This time with chewy tasteless veal and dry bream. This is our 6th trip to Manfredi’s, over 4 cruises. We have ordered almost everything on the menu, and have been dissatisfied, to varying degrees, each time.

Currently on the Orion. Alaska and the Inside Passage Embarkation was a breeze on Tuesday. Got a negative Anti-Gen test in Vancouver on Monday (5/2). Check-in person hardly looked at it. It did have Negative in huge block letters on the hard copy we showed. We were on the ship by 10:30 Am. An announcement that all cabins were ready came on at 12 noon! Only 485 people on board!! We booked a GTY cabin, and received a DV, about midship. Cabin, as expected, was exactly like the cabins we hade on 3 previous VO cruises Lots of hits and misses, regarding food and service so far. I will detail later. Weather has been great, and surprisingly warm to this point.(in Skagway now)