biggerbearmom

42 minutes ago, dd57 said:

We are also on Viking Mars.  My husband is on day 4 of isolation after testing positive for Covid.  (I am still negative by some miracle).  I am convinced that he caught it on the transfer bus from Keflavik. At least a quarter of the people on the bus were coughing.  Without wearing masks.  I've been wearing a KN 95 mask 24/7 since he tested positive.  I have to say Viking is doing an outstanding job taking care of him.

I’m sorry for your husband but happy for you. I’m not sure where we got it, we wore masks on our flights and such, but I think it must have been on an excursion. We were rat packed into the buses and on long tours with most people not masking. I actually believe there are quite a number of people on this cruise that have tested positive; the vials outside the staterooms are the key clue.

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Thank you.  Unfortunately there are many that would hide their illness especially if mild.

 

I am sorry to hear that you have Covid and hope you will recover quickly and that it is not too bad.

Thank you for the kind comments, I would not wish this on my worst enemy. The first three days of quarantine were not so bad because I was sick and in bed. Today I am feeling much better, and melancholy because we are docked in Flam, Norway. It is a beautiful sunny day, people are out enjoying the sights and the beautiful weather, and we have to be content with the view from our balcony.

On 8/18/2022 at 11:43 AM, 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 am currently on the Mars and on my third day of quarantine. I requested testing because I had all the symptoms and was really sick. Even if I hadn’t tested, I was too sick & could not have participated on excursions or been out and about on the ship. I knew it would impact my vacation, but I certainly would not want want my lack of action for selfish reasons to impact someone else. The staff is taking great care of us.

We did this cruise in April. Check the excursions every single day, it is tedious but it paid off for us. We had two days where every excursion was sold out, Le Havre (we actually docked in Honfluer due to a dock strike) was one of them. I eventually was able to book Monet’s Garden which is a fantastic excursion and one in Porto, due to other passengers cancelling.

Does anyone have any experience with staying at The Snooze Hotel, located on FLL Beach?  We typically stay at The Hyatt Place in Dania Beach, but we will have three nights pre cruise at the end of January and I thought a beach front hotel would be nice.

3 hours ago, The Other Tom said:

I'm pretty sure you have to be ticketed to change seats, etc.

I can only speak to my experience, I am currently 85 days out from my cruise in August, my flights are not yet ticketed, and I changed my flights two days ago because I did not want to fly Air Canada.

2 hours ago, dd57 said:

Only after they are posted in MVJ, which happens closer to the cruise.  The 2nd cruise is over 150 days away and the flights don't show, even though the system has booked them.

This has not been the case in my numerous experiences using Viking Air with Air Plus. As soon as the tickets are booked (not ticketed) they've shown up in MVJ. Our air was booked in February for our upcoming August cruise and the flights were in MVJ the same day. As soon as they show up you can change seats, flights, dates, etc.

If you have paid for Air Plus you do not need to call Viking to make a change.

Flights can be changed online in MVJ, I just did this two days ago for an upcoming trip in August.

On 4/9/2022 at 5:31 AM, Mimiya11 said:

Thank you!   Very helpful and appreciated.  Just got our MVJ email last night so looking forward to getting started.   This cruise will be a completely different experience for us after many Celebrity cruises (which we love).  But after watching many You Tube clips of the Viking ships over the last couple of days, am sold on Viking even before we step onto the ship.   🙂

We are previous Celebrity loyalist and will still cruise with them when warranted. 
Our first Viking experience was a 2018 Grand European River Cruise, this is what sold us on the Viking experience. We just returned from our first Viking Ocean Cruise, the Trade Route itinerary, and absolutely loved it. We also have Majestic Iceland in August, and we just booked the Panama Canal on the Viking Star for Dec 21, 2022. We had been booked with Princess for the Panama trip but after sailing Viking Ocean it was hard to imagine going back to a large ship. 

Typically they ticket approximately 70 days out from the flight. 
I found this out from calling the Viking air department last month.

I had been  waiting for my June 10th flight to be ticketed, and sure enough on day 68 I checked I was able to go in to UA and see that it had been ticketed.

I spoke to my TA today, she confirmed what I was told via Viking chat confirming the use of the home test with a lab report, and that her mother recently used the  BinaxNOW Antigen supervised test for a Viking Cruise.

2 hours ago, miami mama said:

Biggerbearmom, please let me know how the Binax testing goes. I also received notice that as long as it was laboratory certified......but they could not confirm that Binax met their requirements. They could only tell me that the 3 they recommend on their website were acceptable. 

 

Would much prefer using the supervised at-home Binax testing and looking forward to hearing how this works out for you. 

I will definitely report back after boarding on April 7th. Possibly the reason that Viking cites Laboratory Certified is to differentiate between the  non supervised,  non verified covid test. You can see my results from a BinaxNOW test that I took last month for a cruise to Mexico, it clearly states Lab Results and has a signature by a Lab Director.

17 minutes ago, Eggtuary said:

And I got a call yesterday from Viking saying that I needed to take my test no more than 72 hours before we board the ship. So they’re not consistent. 🙁

The response from my chat today confirms what is stated in my departure instructions. My instructions specifically state 72 hours from outbound flight with no mention of independent travel. Now that I’ve put that to rest I can start on a packing list. 😁

I went on to the Viking chat today to ask about using the BinaxNOW Ag, at home, monitored test. She confirmed it can be used because it provides a lab report (see my earlier post). I will be using these tests and will bring along a copy of the chat.

See the screen shots of my Viking chat from today regarding BinaxNow Ag rapid test as well as confirmation of no extra testing for independent travel.

55 minutes ago, PRH said:

I just found this verbiage, but it is contrary to what is stated in my Pre-Departure Check List. I wonder if they failed to update the FAQ?  I will be following the instructions on the check list, if there’s a problem on embarkation I will point out the instructions. The whole point of the instructions and a checklist is so that one is clear on what needs to be done. Shouldn’t have to search through FAQ’s…

On 3/8/2022 at 11:19 AM, PRH said:

Ok.  Just got off the phone with Viking.  He told me the eMed Ag test is ok because it verifies your identity (drivers license with picture) (in other words, someone else cannot take your test), supervises the test taking and timing (test must be in the camera at all times) and generates a QR code.

In looking at my BinaxNow AG results from last month, it reads as a lab report, which would meet Viking’s requirement

9 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Ours says 1st Viking activity AND outbound flight (contradictory) for our March 23 cruise (FLL). Spoke with Viking tell us.  They acknowledged the discrepancy but said in no way is it outbound d flight.  That was old .  It is 72 hours from boarding ship or 1st Viking activity.  Makes a big difference.

As you can see from our departure requirements, it only mentions the outbound flight.

23 hours ago, crimmj said:

We also depart on Viking on a Monday from San Juan. Going to get a PCR test the Friday before at home so the test is within the 72 hour window prior to sailing. But do I actually need to know the results on Friday? Most free tests give results within 24-48 hours. We will be in San Juan by then but if I have the test results to show Viking on Monday (and of course hope negative) isn’t that ok?

I have wondered about this as well. I thought if I don’t get my results back in time for my flight, that I would self test to make sure I am negative when I leave, and then the results would arrive before embarkation.  We are traveling three days before embarkation so it gives us a little leeway. My instructions from Viking states 72 hours before outbound flight, it no longer mentions “first Viking activity”.

We are doing the train trip on our own in April. Did you know there is a direct airport train that runs every 20 minutes from Oslo Central Station?

1 hour ago, Let Me Travel! said:

We wanted to do the train post-excursion between Bergen and Norway. Well after about 1-year I did email.  They did not have a waitlist or anything…I tried to book the hotel on my own and they are sold out…I booked the post excursion on my own…different nearby hotel and I booked the train on my own…it is actually just a hair less expensive to do it on my own.  I will have to take a cab or shuttle to the airport from Oslo.

On 1/28/2022 at 6:47 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

Beverage package (that includes coffees) must be purchased by both people in the cabin.  

 

You can share your specialty coffee "punches".  I traded my elite bar for the "digital card".  More drinks than I could afford (calories) on a 9 day back to back.  Tried hard to find crew members at the International Cafe...to pay it forward.  

 

The barista at the IC would always tell me how many coffees I had left. 

I just purchased the coffee package for myself for an upcoming cruise and did not have to purchase one for my husband.

We booked in July 2021 for our upcoming April 7, 2022 Trade Routes Cruise. We booked a guarantee and were given our cabin assignment three days ago. No upgrade, but we got what we paid for and will be happy to be cruising.

This email I received today from Celebrity clearly states 3 days.

This is an email I received from Celebrity in response to an email I sent last week:

Hello,

Thank you for your response to my email I have updated your information. 

At this time testing is required prior to arrival for all guests over the age of two. Unfortunately we don’t have a testing facility at the pier you will have to make arrangements pre sailing. We are allowing PCR OR Antigen testing. While most PCR tests do require 24-48 hours, antigen tests are usually given results same day often within 15 minutes. 

The information they have given us states the test must be taken within 72 hours of embarkation. We have been advised that as long as it was done the 3 days before it will be accepted at the pier. I would suggest maybe doing your test as late in the day as possible if it would make you more comfortable. 

If you don’t have your test results prior to boarding unfortunately you may be denied boarding. 

Thank you,