DrBanjo

We are  booked on Pride of America sailing on June 5, 2021.  Evidently, all June cruises are now "frozen", which seems to mean that NCL is considering canceling some, or all, of its June 2021 cruises.  Ugghhh!!

We are booked on Pride of America for April 17, 2021 sail date.  We are very eager to learn about the "small change" that 98420934 mentioned.   

               DrBanjo

Here in Austin, Texas, COVID-19 cases are increasing again, as they are elsewhere in the U.S.  Evidently, we are in the midst of the third surge in Coronavirus infections and hospitalizations since the beginning of this pandemic.   Our public health and political authorities aren't talking about shutting-down businesses at this time, but they are re-emphasizing the importance of wearing facemasks, washing hands, and maintaining physical distance from other persons.    Our problem seems to be that people are weary of the pandemic, and the seasonal onset of cooler weather is causing many to relax their adherence to the guidelines.      

I am booked for a NCL Pride of America cruise of the Hawaiian Islands in late February 2021.   Does anybody think that NCL will be able to meet all of the CDC requirements before then?

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

I personally like the MSC model better. Since they are requiring passengers to go on only cruise line-sponsored excursions, they are packaging them at 100 Euros for 3 excursions, and all classes on their ships get at least one excursion complimentary. I would prefer that model to upping the price of the whole cruise to make the excursions "free." Just my $0.02.

Excellent suggestion, DCGuy64!  I like this proposal very much.   Viking cruises aren't cheap, but my wife and I consider them to be a good value for our tastes.

I read the whole report.  Other cruise critics already have mentioned the problem of obtaining documentation of Negative COVID-19 diagnostic tests within the required timeframe before embarkation.   I would like to add that implementation of the proposed recommendations should be accompanied by NCL substantially revising its business model.  Most NCL-sponsored shore excursions are too expensive, and denying passengers to depart from the ship in any port unless they are participating in a ship-sponsored excursion will drive cruisers away from NCL.  Please consider the business model of Viking Ocean Cruises, in which the cruise payment includes certain shore excursions in every port visited, plus beer and wine at all lunches and dinners, and entertainment - - no "nickel and dining" for cruise essentials.   I booked a NCL Pride of America Hawaii cruise for January, 2021, and I may have to cancel if I am required to pay additional amounts for required shore excursions.

We are in our seventies, living in Austin, Texas.   We are continuing to shelter-in-place at our home, with only minimal (necessary) excursions into commercial areas in our community.  We communicate with family members and friends via emails, text messages, FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom.   We are wondering when it will be safe for us to travel again.  We are particularly interested in NCL's Pride of America Hawaiian Islands cruise.   We notice that bookings are available for autumn 2020, and all of 2021, but have doubts about COVID 19 safety during that timeframe, especially for elderly persons like us.   What do you think?

          DrBanjo

Thanks for providing the information!

I suspect you'll get it at the terminal when you arrive. That's what happened at the airport when we flew into Puerto Plata several years ago. It was $10, IIRC, in U.S. Currency.

Langoustine, I won't be flying into an airport in the Dominican Republic. I will be arriving in Santo Domingo on a cruise ship. Does the cruise ship terminal include a facility for dispensing Tourist Cards?

I am booked on a cruise to Santo Domingo in Dominican Republic. I see that a Tourist Card (Tarjeta de Turista) is required to enter that country for short visits. How can I get a Tourist Card? Are they available at the cruise terminal in Santo Domingo? The Tourist Card link on the DR website does not work. Help!

DrBanjo

We're getting ready for our 3rd Viking cruise (1 River, 2 Ocean) and I find the Viking Airline Reservation system to be Viking's Achilles Heel. Flights are scheduled at very bad times, into airports that seem to be out of the way resulting in crazy itineraries. There is little or no flexibility unless one wants to book their own flights, and that is not a bad idea. On our first Viking trip, our connecting flight was late, resulting in our being late at destination airport (still during the day). I called Viking about our transfer and they said I had to make my own arrangement to the ship, that they would not pick us up, but couldn't even give me an address to tell the cab driver that we would have to get ourselves. While still in the baggage area we saw other flights come in with bags with Viking tags on them. We found their owners and low and behold the Viking rep who was meeting them. We simply rode to the ship with them. Viking was completely unaware of their own process.

The Viking passengers that you tagged along with had their flight arrangements made through Viking Air, and this service includes transfers to & from the airport. Since Viking Air did not arrange your air transportation, you weren't entitled to ride along with them. You could have asked the Viking representative at the airport for directions to the port. It is possible that you occupied space on the bus that had been paid for by someone else. I assure you, Viking knows their process very well.

Instead of all of this chatter about stateroom storage space, excursions and entertainment, what about the "engine issues" on the Viking Sea? Inquiring minds want to know what happened, and how did Viking Cruises accommodate the passengers who were inconvenienced.

DrBanjo

I have since received an email saying we would receive a credit for a future Viking cruise--river or ocean. The email also asked me to call to discuss the problem I discussed with our customer representative. I haven't called and probably won't.

PatriciaF,

I also received an email concerning Viking compensation for our Venice debarkation inconvenience. It was not a fully-paid future cruise, but a $250 per person credit towards the cost of a future Viking cruise. Maybe your offer was more generous than the one that was made to me.

DrBanjo

P.S. Yes, since returning home, I have been playing my banjo and guitars quite often. I missed doing that when we were on the ship.

It's our last day on Viking Sea and we couldn't be happier. First of all, virtually everything is included. Secondly, the staff is well trained, courteous and helpful in the extreme. I could go on and on, but will keep it short. When it comes to cruising I don't think we will ever be happy with any other cruise line. Viking has spoiled us.

 

 

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I am looking forward to embarkation on the Viking Sea tomorrow! My wife and I are very excited, and anxious to be spoiled.

In looking at our included shore excursions on "My Viking Journey" I noticed that most of the included shore excursions for our upcoming Empires of the Mediterranean Ocean Cruise are listed with a difficulty-level of "Demanding". This includes Athens, Santorini, Kotor, Dubrovnik, and Zadar. And the included shore excursions for Katakolon,and Koper are listed as "Moderate". All of them are coach tours, scenic drives, or walking tours, which I would not expect to be particularly strenuous. Does anybody have an explanation about what Viking Ocean Cruises is trying to communicate? Are they trying to discourage passengers from participating in these included tours?

DrBanjo

My wife and I are booked on "Empires of the Mediterranean", which was scheduled to begin Dec. 4 in Istanbul. We are very disappointed, since Istanbul has been on our list for several years. We visited Ephesus previously, and it would have been nice to see it again, but we won't miss that as much as Istanbul. Our initial response was to think about canceling our cruise, but we might not do that. We are still wrestling with that possibility. We haven't been to Venice yet, or to Santorini, or Kotor, or Dubrovnik.

I have a question about the stability of the small Viking Oceans ships when the seas become choppy or turbulent. How steady are these vessels while going through unsettled waters?

DrBanjo

My wife is eager to find out if the water in the pools on Viking Sea are warm or otherwise.

I believe that the information posted by lambs2 is correct. Thanks for clarifying this situation.

Actually, I don't think that RCCL multiplied the number of cruises times 7 and then added 13. I think that they added up the number of cruise nights on cruises taken during the past 10 years (they don't appear to be able to recall my cruise history before that!), and then added 13. I suspect that the 13 point "bonus" was added to make RCCL appear to be generous, and/or to cover up for their data limitations.

Tom