federalexpress

OK hope you enjoy your cruise.

Be careful, I gather while Europe is mostly no pre testing, there was some confusion about some ports like Athens which might still need it and certainly outside Europe (other than the US) it is my understanding that pre cruise testing is still mandatory in many places. Best check with your TA or with Viking, I believe it all depends on your cruise's embarkation point.

That's a step in the right direction. Hopefully they can continue to move onboard processes closer to onshore protocols.

Thanks for that insight, it did seem a fair price at the time. Enjoy your next cruise...

That's a shame. I don't feel the same perceived health risk from catching Covid that you do- I had it recently, it was quite mild and I feel it's unlikely to be worse in future infections- but I share your concern at dropping pre cruise testing, especially as there appears to be no evidence on its effectiveness (or lack of it) so we simply don't know whether or not it will lead to more onboard infections. For me, it's about the current onboard protocols which I regard as draconian. To potentially increase the risk of those being imposed on me without a corresponding reduction in the consequences (as much as 2 weeks isolated alone in a small cabin with no outside air) strikes me as outsourcing too much risk to me, hence I'm also considering cancelling. If they are going to 'normalise' pre cruise to match land based guidelines, then the same should apply onboard, where the protocol in place is way in excess of current guidelines, for example from CDC. On the upside, like you, I've cut back on foreign travel during Covid (albeit not to the extent you have) and the silver lining to that is I have discovered great places much closer to my doro, here in the UK. Oh and of course it is cheaper, and less hassle, if you don't have to struggle through airports, especially right now.

I think the Antartica cruise was a little more than the Fjords one when I booked. It was a close call between them but in the end, the former just had too many sea days for me, plus a greater chance of bad weather, but I must admit it was tempting, a chance to see something extraordinary. I don't know if I'm breaking rules here (will soon know if I'm modded) but I paid £4k per person cruise only for the Fjords cruise in a CC suite, with $1000 OBC included. I'm interested if you see it for less than that cos I gather Azamara supposedly adjusts the price to whatever the new level is (which I must say seems like a very fair concept, if they honour it)

Interesting. I'm booked on the Fjords one on 24 January. What price are you seeing for a CC suite, cruise only? I thought I had a decent deal and I'm not seeing anything cheaper than what I paid, from the quick search I've done.

Yes and it occurs to me that if people know that is their fate if they ask for a test and it turns out positive, then it is an incentive for those who have only mild symptoms to not put their hand in the air to ask for one. Trickier perhaps if you have a bad cough that will get you noticed by other passengers. In that instance, maybe the idea is to 'voluntarily' isolate yourself in your own cabin...

I'd agree with all that. I'm not worried medically. I had it recently and I was fine apart from a day or so of feeling below par. I don't worry much about catching it from that perspective, just being locked up for the whole cruise and losing £15,000 plus of holiday. I'm not rich enough to be able to easily lose that type of money...

It certainly has. Truly scary and the second horror story I've heard on this, another one was posted on a seperate thread. I'm thinking of cancelling my cruise early next year. I think I'll write to Azamara and ask them, if they are removing Covid protocols like pre cruise testing, then they have to also adapt on board protocols so they are less severe.

Do you know what happened to them onboard? Is the current policy still to confine people until they test negative and do you know if they are still forcing people into inside cabins, even if they have booked a larger cabin with outdoor space? Hope you recover from your infection as quickly as I did.

That's very useful as a reference. I wish they would re-look at the whites on the Ultimate package, they are much, much duller far than the reds and one of the rose wines, which are actually pretty decent drops. Put it this way, if they are 'ultimate', I'm not sure how the included wines can be 'boutique' in any sense that I would understand.

I do not have your experience of cruising, only one previous cruise with HAL 8 years ago, because I've never really regarded it as my kind of holiday, so have sailed with neither Azamara or Oceania, but for my forthcoming S America voyage, both were the main candidates along with Viking. The latter was my favourite but their air package is hopeless and provides little flexibility. I quite liked the look of Oceania, especially its reputation for food, but the problem was, a similar cabin was roughly 50% more on a like for like basis compared to Azamara. Maybe the latter was offering an especially good deal. I guess my advantage here is I won't know if Oceania is better, but I will know if Azamara is better than HAL, which I imagine it will be, and I enjoyed the cruising on the latter more than I expected to (I was really mainly focussed on the destinations, as I am for this cruise, albeit it's nice to travel in comfort)

Good advice, thanks.

Nor I but that is what he suggested in his email, at least with some ship's tours. His own tour does seem to get rave reviews.

Was that with Patrick Watts? I've booked with him, no issue with refunds, he takes payment on arrival so if the ship can't dock, you lose nothing. Don't know whether he is right but he also claims ship's tours are often led by people for whom English is not their first language e.g. Chileans, Peruvians etc, and who therefore are not as familiar generally with the Falklands.

They most certainly are. Of course, the problem with the current drought is we are also told not to water the garden to preserve supplies! My local golf course is getting browner and browner and is rock hard. At least it means I hit the ball further. Fortunately it is all due to be over by Wednesday, temperatures back to near normal so it's only a couple of days of serious heat.

As an Azamara newbie, I have no experience of actually going on ship tours but I do know a tour I have booked in the Falklands for my forthcoming cruise was less than half the cost booked direct, compared to what was available via the ship. As far as I can tell, exactly the same itinerary, if anything better because it is led by a native English speaking Falklander.

Interesting. I imagine that would also be the case if your other half had it. But I assume it was only for a couple of days, because it normally clears by then, whereas at the moment with Covid, you might be looking at the best part of 2 weeks before you test negative and they let you out. I'm not sure whether they allow you to keep your own cabin with Norovirus, but I've heard stories about people being shifted out of a balcony cabin or suite and put in an inside cabin, alone, for almost 2 weeks. That is what would concern me a lot.

Yep that would probably be as good as it gets, although I've found it can behave oddly enough to be never quite sure when that point is. I had Omicron a couple of weeks ago. Very rough for a few hours in the morning and went back to bed, but by lunchtime the same day, I felt fine. Next morning I had a hacking cough but that lasted 1 hour, then went away. Then just a head cold, runny nose, a bit of sneezing. But that came and went so I'm not sure how I'd have handled it onboard. In the end, those symptoms lasted a week, albeit I reckon some people might not even have noticed on most of those days. I'd personally be happy with a much more relaxed approach, given it does not appear to be a serious threat to me, but I'm conscious that is not true for all.

I've never had norovirus onboard a cruise ship but I'm not sure it's a good analogy with Covid. Do cruise lines order you to stay in your cabin or just advise you to? Moreover this illness is generally over in a couple of days and if you have it, you might not wish to leave your cabin anyway! With Covid, you may have few if any symptoms, feel well enough to go about your business, but still be restricted to your cabin, and typically it will be for many, many more days, most likely the vast majority of your cruise. I'm not sure it would be accepted without too many complaints if it were commonplace. It would certainly make me re-consider whether cruises were a sensible option. It's a very tricky issue for cruise lines, no obvious solutions.

I agree the testing is a bit stressful, not least because that creates the risk of not even getting on the ship in the first place. You have a fair point that maybe testing should be included within the fare, given that such draconian onboard policies exist. It might also improve the quality and accuracy of the testing.

In my opinion, pre cruise testing should remain in place for as long as cruise lines insist on isolating anyone onboard who catches Covid, possibly not even in their own room but in a smaller cabin without outside access. It is obviously not guaranteed to prevent onboard infections but in my opinion, it is better than any of the alternatives. I'm not personally bothered about the health risk having already had it recently (appreciate others are more concerned on that score) but I am bothered about solitary confinement and would accept a bit of pre cruise hassle and cost to reduce that risk.

Thanks, that is both informative and re-assuring. My cruise is around S America, so prime wine producing territory, which I guess means I can always bring a bottle or two of white onboard to keep in my cabin, if I'm too lazy to go and get wine to bring back from the bar. I also like port but it likes me less well. Shame they don't seem to offer a dessert wine on the package- so maybe not quite 'ultimate'!

Thanks, very useful insights. I also read the same comment about the rose disappearing, it's partly what prompted my post, and no offence to Beringer, but if I wanted a glass of rose, it would need to be something better than a white zinfandel!