ClevelandKid

On 10/21/2022 at 8:32 PM, Edmond33 said:

According to various European news outlets, as of October 21, 2022, Spain will no longer require non-EU citizens to provide proof of vaccination, recovery, or recent COVID test in order to enter the country.  Can anyone confirm this?  There has been no change on the Viking site to indicate this.

We visited Spain just on our own, not part of a cruise, arriving September 26 of this year, and leaving 10 days later.  We were flying from the USA (Cleveland through JFK) and were not asked to present any covid related documents on our journey.  We flew into Madrid, and left from Barcelona.  Hope this helps!

thanks all!  so what i am taking away from this is there is no real value to the comfort check in (except the pleasure it gives by doing something that reminds you of the cruise while it is still a month out).   we are doing the pre-cruise extension, so we should be at the ship quite early.   Viking Star docked at berth 26 at fort lauderdale yesterday.  It looks like last year's berth, number 4, is unavailable due to construction.  a shame since 4 is closer to the town than 26 is.

We have done 2 ocean cruises in the past, but our upcoming cruise is the first one where early check in is an option. 
 

what does the early check in get you?  Do you get your id cards early?  Our February 2020 cruise, our check in amounted to a questionnaire about some disease coming out of China (little did we know), they pulled our cards and that was it. For our next cruise is embarkation day like any other port, where we flash our badges and go in, or are there other steps that we have to do?  
 

thanks!

53 minutes ago, CDR2001 said:

The hotel information will be in your final Viking documents, emailed a few weeks prior to the trip. The tentative hotel is on your invoice. We’ve had 3 extensions, and were pleased with the help and advice of the Viking hosts in the lobby. All hotels were high class, with included breakfast buffets. 

I was hoping that the hotel information would be finalized at about the same time as the air.  Viking says "at this hotel or something similar".  On this extension, Viking offers nothing beyond the hotel and the meet and greet and I would like to plan the day and know what my base of operations will be.

Easy question:  Are the extensions finalized (hotel reservations, et al) at the same time as the air is or does it happen before or after?  And what sort of notification do you get on the hotel?  For instance, a room number?  Thanks!

I guess my interest is this:  We have a cruise that leaves from Fort Lauderdale (Panama Canal).  There is a direct flight from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale on United, however, Viking seems to like Delta (a lot) which does not have a direct flight.  I am happy to know that I can change the flights myself if they do put us on Delta, but is that considered a deviation?  Same date, same cities, different airlines.

I was browsing MVJ and came across a tidbit I had not seen before:  In the past when you got your flights and you wanted to make changes you had a narrow window between when they made reservations and when they purchased the tickets.  If you wanted to make changes you had to go through your TA or Viking Air (and of course pay the additional fee).  What I came across under MVJ under air says that:

Thank you for choosing Viking Air, we are working on finalizing your flights. Once your air itinerary is available you will receive a confirmation email and will be able to view your flights below. At that time, you will be able to review and change seats, upgrade or change your flights, and more – all from here in My Viking Journey.

Allowing people to make changes online through MVJ is new (at least to me).  Great idea!  

So, has anyone used this feature?  How easy was it, especially if you wanted a different flight?  Did you pay a fee for making changes?

Thanks!

Help with a little background here - if you are a US resident, and you are traveling to Canada, is the ArriveCAN required as of today (August 8 ) before entry?  Is this for any form of entry?  We live close enough to Canada that we could drive up to catch a cruise.  Thanks!

We are doing the Panama Canal cruise (FLL to Panama and back) next February.  On the day we reach Colon, two excursions interest me - doing the ferry ride through the Canal or seeing the Miraflores locks.  I thought the Miraflores locks would be a given, but I have read that there is no guarantee that any ships will pass through it while you are there, which would kind of defeat the purpose of going.  The ferry ride seems interesting but then our ship will be transiting the locks the next day (only halfway and then they turn around and come back).  Any insights, experiences or insights on the other excursions would be most welcome.

12 minutes ago, shadowlover said:

I can't seem to find the booking summary anymore.  I tried the menu and it is not listed...

Tell you what I found and how I got around it.  I am looking at the MVJ on my home computer and I generally do not have my web browser set at max.  When that happens, the menu extends below the bottom of the page and you can't scroll to it.  Maximize your browser and see if you can then scroll down.

Viking - I know you monitor these pages.  The design flaw we have been talking about should be fixed.  Every menu item translates to a box on the webpage except the booking.  You should add a tab to either payments and cart or guest information. 

Thanks!  They certainly made it a lot harder to find - but find it I did.  Thanks for your help!

PS - wish they would put it back on the front page.

Someone else on a Facebook thread pointed out that the cabin numbers are no longer showing in My Viking Journey.  As a retired programmer I know that you don't accidently drop information from a page, it is a conscious decision.  Wondering what is going on since there seems to be no advantage to keeping this information hidden?  I am not expecting my cabin to magically change, but I am not sure why it should not be shown?

Thanks mightly!  I didn't know Viking would bring the luggage to the room and pick it up in the morning!  I thought I would be doing the carting - this greatly simplifies my life.  I will pack the carryon for the one night (plus things I absolutely can't lose - like the passport) and essentially let Viking handle the rest.

We are signed up for a Panama Canal cruise with a pre-cruise extension in Fort Lauderdale.  An easy question: if requested will Viking hold our main luggage overnight?  It would be nice not to have to cart it up to a room only to return it unopened the following morning (they are fair size - it is after all a 15 day cruise).  I would like to just have our carryon luggage in the room since it is only one night.  However, I don't know if Viking would do that, plus I don't know if the transport company is Viking or subcontracted out.  Or, can I drop our main bags off with the hotel storage?  Thanks for anyone with some insight into this less than thorny problem! 🙂

43 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

For many doing the Viking extensions in a foreign country where you don't speak the language or understand the currency is a measure of comfort...but in the US?  If all you want to do is chill at a hotel on the beach and stay on the beach until you board the ship, you can do it for a lot less and save your dollars for optional excursions on the ship.

Normally I would agree with you - however, in this case because we are using Viking Air, the finances are a wash, either one comes out to about $400 ($100 pp deviation fee + hotel room which is probably $160 at a Hampton Inn + transportation versus $199 pp and no deviation fee and we got a beach front room, which would be at least $200 - I did check out hotels before going the this route). 

As far as using Viking Air, we had booked a cruise where I had made the flight reservations, and when the cruise got canceled I had a headache with the flights.  So, until Covid is a thing of the past, I will use Viking Air and let them worry about it.

Hi all,

I just came back in from shoveling a foot of snow, so of course my mind is on our cruise (though it is a long way off).  Couple of questions to help melt the snow away:

We signed up for the pre-cruise extension for our Panama Canal cruise.  The hotel is the Westin in Fort Lauderdale.  How are room preferences handled?  You take what is given, or is there a window between when Viking gives the hotel the guest list and when you actually show up that you can contact the hotel directly to get your preferences?  Or is that handled through Viking (I have to think not since Viking doesn't have the reservation software for the hotel).

The hotel is right on the beach...  We would like to spend the day on the beach...  Can we send our bags ahead with the Viking transport and go later to catch the ship?  There appears to be a free shuttle that Fort Lauderdale runs between the beaches and Port Everglades (or more precisely, Eisenhower and 17th - a short walk).  Or should we do everything first and then return to the beach (which seems like a bit of a time sink), or best yet - does Viking run its transport multiple times throughout the day?

Stay warm (and for those of you already on a cruise - you lucky person you)!

8 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

No deviation charge.

Thanks!

Hi all,

I have an easy question about extensions. If you sign up for an extension pre or post cruise does Viking Air charge you the $100 pp deviation fee or is the extension considered part of the cruise?

We will be doing the Panama Canal cruise starting out of Fort Lauderdale.  Our preference would be to fly in a day early rather than wake up at 3 am for a 6 am flight.  There are a number of hotels that have free shuttle service to and from the airport and - for a fee - will take you to the cruise terminal.  If that is the way it goes, I am fine with that, but the thought occurred to me that we could take the free hotel shuttle back to the airport and catch the Viking transfer that would be included in our trip.  We will be using Viking Air (probably Viking Air Plus) to book our flights, so the transfers should be included.  Does Viking allow you to use the shuttle if you are flying in on a different day?  If anyone has done this very thing, would love to hear from you.  Also, if we go that route, how early does Viking start running the shuttle from the airport? 

I know checking with Viking is one sure way of answering that, but I hate clogging up my TA's time with a question that I think many people have already navigated.

Thanks much!

Hi all,

We are 180 days out from our Amazon cruise (yay!).  We booked our own flights when the booking window came open and saved a lot of money, but now we are encountering a problem - both our initial flight (Cleveland -> San Juan) and return trip (Manaus -> Cleveland) have had flight changes.  The return trip I don't care about since our connection time is somewhat longer, but not horribly so.  However, on the initial flight our connection time is 35 minutes, which may be a tad tight.  I am allowed to change the flight without incurring a change fee, but before I do I wanted to ask the community here their experience on when flights settle down.

So, after a long intro, here is my question:  For those who have flown in the last few months, when did the schedule for flights finally get set?  I am sure there are always some last minute stuff, but overall when did you feel that your flights would not change?  90 days out? 60 days out? 180 days out?

Thanks,

Pat

Got a question for those who have done the Amazon cruise:

We are booked on the February 25 San Juan to Manaus cruise, and the potential shore excursions listed today are pretty much the same ones when we booked in spring of 2020.  On the first three days of the cruise, you hit the Caribbean islands and there are plenty of shore excursions.  Once you hit Brazil the number of daily shore excursions drops a lot - in some cases, just 1 a day.  As I was contemplating Brazil's situation with Covid I looked at those shore excursions and noted that pretty much (and remember these are from pre-pandemic days) that you go to an isolated area with a guide and don't really mingle with the locals.  Example, hikes in the rainforest, boat rides on the river, etc.  What there is not are walking tours of the towns (except at the end in Manaus).  For those who have done this before - is this a fair reading of what is being offered?  I think this might play a large role in whether the cruise is canceled or stays on track.

Thanks!

Got a question for those who are booked on cruises happening soon...

I have read the Viking pr stuff about tracking covid while onboard (which sounds very impressive), but there is another spot where crowds are unavoidable - airports.  Does anyone know if Viking Air is attempting to avoid certain airports or otherwise minimize risk?  Our cruise in February has (or will have)  a connecting flight in Sao Paulo, which is a covid hotspot.

Thanks!

7 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

Surveys are not available until 7 days prior to sailing.  We are still more than a week away from the first Bermuda sailing, so most of us have not seen the survey.  

 

However, Viking Venus did her first sailing last week for UK pax only.  There is a thread dedicated to the UK only sailing and someone may have commented on it already.  Else, you can ask about it there. 

Actually - you just answered one of my big questions, when you have to fill it out.  I think as more people have to fill it out we can get some more info.

Buried deep on the Viking site is a tidbit about a health survey (My Viking Journey / Before you go / Viking Health and Safety Program): 

Your journey begins before you ever leave home, with a digital Health Survey that you will complete on MyVikingJourney.com. Developed by scientific and medical advisors, Viking’s new Health Survey takes only a minute to submit and verifies your wellness prior to travel. Depending on your dates of travel, Viking may require you to submit verification of COVID-19 vaccination status as part of the digital Health Survey.

Has anyone encountered this yet, and can shed some light on the survey?

On 5/31/2021 at 4:23 PM, C-sea said:

We have done a Viking River Cruise, should we be able to receive a complimentary  1 cabin class upgrade? Example...  PV2 to PV1?

I believe the answer is yes - we have done only ocean cruises, but our second and third cruise we got a class upgrade.  Since the river cruises are in the same price range as the ocean cruises, I can't picture why they wouldn't.