TayanaLorna

And this issue really bothers me. If the "emotional" reason cannot be known, how can a cruise line determine that an emotionally challenged person is not a threat to other passengers. I believe this was an issue for the airlines with emotional support animals. Thank goodness cruise lines ban and screen for guns!

Oh no, if you do that my DH will have to bring his recliner chair!

I understand this completely. My dogs are the friendliest and will roll all squirmy at a new persons feet for belly rubs. However i never know how they will react to a chance encounter with a new dog. I know they sense my fear at these times and react accordingly. I live in a remote area where i can walk them off leash most months. However during season we may have tourists out for early morning walks too. One I morning i had a gal screaming at the top of her lungs when she saw my dogs off leash. I get it. So will you have to grill Viking prior to each cruise you take now? Should you have to cancel because there is a service or emotional support dog on board?

I see the Star is on a TA. Numerous days offshore can pose risks. Interesting points.

World Cruise here we come! The main reason we could not go on world cruise is we couldn't leave our dogs for very 4-5 months. Now all we need to do is train and certify them as emotional support dogs! Seriously, as deec asks, where DO they do their duty? Who cleans up after them? How are the staterooms cleaned? What about their shedding? The reindeer pelts are bad enough. German Shephards are known service dogs for the blind and very smart but boy do they shed. What about the rights of the allergic? What about those who are afraid of dogs? I know Finse has occasionally been aboard with Karine for a limited period of time but owners have their privledge and they know he is well behaved and trained. I too personally hope guest animals are added to the NO list also.

To prove this is not a bogus post to start controversy, please post a photo where we can clearly identify Viking ocean. I agree that service dogs should be well trained. That includes no furniture and no barking. We love and have 2 dogs that support us emotionally. They are not trained to do so, it's just their inherent nature and our perceived need. They are pets and our family as we have no children. I would never consider taking them on a cruise with us. I have friends who bought a support harness and took their dog on airplanes with them so the dog didn't have to go in cargo. The dog was not certified or trained. Airlines stopped that for the most part.

In our 5 Viking Ocean cruises, there has been a bin of cold water wherever we exited the ship. Sometimes there would be crew member encouraging guests to take a bottle other times it would be there for the taking. You can take as many bottles as you like. There are no coolers on the bus. The same water bin was usually available when you returned to the ship. We never had bottles of water in our room cooler unless we put them there. Water by the glass is available at the restaurant tables not in bottles. Same in the pool area. Hopefully Viking is discouraging the single use bottles by only providing them for excursions. The room steward will put a caraf of water in your room twice a day. We ask for two carafs and they are readily available. At first we would refill the plastic bottles with the room caraf to cut down on plastic use but the small opening made it hard to do. Last cruise we brought our own refillable wide mouth bottles.

Yep, Elizabet is iconicbuenosaires.com

In Puerto Montt we used Andres O from Tours by Locals for a 6 hour tour up to Osorno Volcano with a hike, then Petrohue Waterfalls and Todos Los Santos Lake. He scheduled the stops so that we avoided the big bus tours at those locations. In Puerto Madryn we used Sentir-Patagonia for a 7 hour excursion to Penninsula Valdes & Estancia Valdes. Saw elephant seals, sea lions with pups, maras, guanacos, magellen penguins and more. Lunch at ths Estancia after walking with the penguins and their young. Awesome. Diego Allende was very helpful. Ventas@sentir-patagonia.com.ar In the Falklands we used Patrick Watts for Volunteer Point but our group was called back after an hour out as ship cancelled port due to worsening tender conditions. Have more then one tour to see penguins planned. In Ushuaia we used Nicholas of Alma Calma for Tierra del Fuego. Was about 5 hours and we did 4 hikes in different areas. Stopped to see the train and the End of the World Post Office - one of the hikes started at that beach. We avoided the tour bus crowds too. Spectacular. In Buenos Aires we used Elizabet Jeckle from Tours by Locals but she now has her own company with her daughter. Was a 6 hour day visiting historical square with cathedral and Casa Rosada, several colorful neighborhoods, a walk through La Recoleta cemetary plus a local lunch. Her company is Iconic Buenas Aires i think. Will look that up. From Montevideo friends did a tour out into the country to a ranch and loved it. Barbecue lunch, horsemanship show, gauchos. We just did town. Very walkable from ship.

Maderia is very mountainous and the roads wind, twist and turn. You are better off exploring town which is lovely and perhaps going up to the botanical gardens which is only a short distance.

I am thinking it's the US systems or AT& T.

Well maybe it depends on your carrier and country where you live. We originally thought WhatsApp calls were free. My neighbor called all his friends and family in Romania then got a bill from ATT for hundreds of dollars. I made 2 calls to a hotel in Brazil and was charged $21.00. We both used WhatsApp calling. However I messaged guides in Brazil through WhatsApp for free.

This is interesting thanks. We will be in Italy for 4 days before Viking and in Greece 3 days after Viking. The $24 for a month is sure cheaper then $10 a day with ATT international.

It is only free if you call your someone in your home country. Like for us living in the US making a call to a friend in the US. If you make calls to a number in the country you are visiting it is not. Like we are in Italy and call a guide to confirm a time.

Love the little desserts! Can try 3 or 4 or 5 of them PLUS gelatto and not gain a pound.

@Iloveketo It seems it is hit or miss getting a script for Paxlovid without actually having Covid. Out of 4 friends from the US on our last cruise, only 1 who asked their MD for it got it. He has very slow growing lung cancer. Here in PR doctors will not prescribe it unless you are really sick.

In Viking pre cruise literature they used to suggest the equivalent of $2-2.50 pp for the guide and $1.00 for the bus driver. I did not see that for my last cruise. The amount suggested was for bus loads of 30 people or so whether included or optional excursions. For tours by locals or private tours in South America we tipped 10%.

Anyone who has a cruise and books another, please confirm.

Speaking of rumors. A Viking travel consultant told me that they are ending the 6 month out final payment plan no matter how many other cruises you have booked. Also the TripMate travel protection plan is being changed to allow vouchers to be insurable. And TripMate must be added before final payment instead of before the 120 day cancellation period.

This is a question for B2B cruises that are one way, not the ones that are round trip following the same itinerary back to original port. Is the entertainment, lectures, special food nights, movies etc the same for each leg of the B2B? Will we have Abba, Beatles, Seafood Extravaganza, Captains Welcome, Crew Farewell, the same Chefs Tables menus etc on each leg or do they offer something different? Just curious.

All the guys I know wear "Hawaiian" shirts but then we live in the Caribbean. Yes to wearing them to dinner on board. My DH bought some long sleeved Neru collared tunic shirts for our Amazon trip. (Read sun and insect protection.) We weren't sure if they would meet the collar rule for the restaurants. But they looked so smart with his slim black trousers that we tried it. No problem. They are certainly more dressy then polo shirts.

I liked all the previous Covid precautions and safely took 2 cruises during the height of the Delta strain and beginning of Omnicron. In the US, i believe only NY and PR still do daily counts of infections, hospitalizations and deaths. In PR, masks are still mandatory in all medical facilities and away from the metropolitan tourist areas i still see 25% still masking in stores. However Covid fear and awareness has really become a thing of the past. I don't think mandatory testing to board a cruise ship will make a difference. People might be more cautious the week before and they might wear masks on airplanes but I doubt it. We recently came through Miami International airport which was absolutely jam packed with people at Customs and Security check. We were the only ones wearing masks that i could see. One could test negative at home but contact Covid in the press of unmasked humanity at the airports.

Exactly. Thats why we like rooms just forward or aft of elevator/stairwell.

Kent, never been on deck 5 however had 4030 which has similar positioning to 5030. What we did not like about 4030 is when you open your door, anyone waiting for the elevator can see into your room. We love being either just fore or aft of the forward lifts on any floor and those are the first ones we choose. Close to Explorers Lounge plus when returning from excursions, we just walk to the forward elevators to avoid the crowds.

There you are Dr. Koob. I followed your Live posts from last year but now want to read it again. You saved me from having to search for it. Thanks.