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Latest Viking response: “Any excursions cancelled on My Viking Journey before you leave are refunded back to the original form of payment.” But he still doesn’t say if that’s only after being applied toward shipboard credit first. I have just sent one more clarifying email: “Thanks, Cedric. Are they refunded only after our cruise? That’s what the FAQ suggests.” Will report back.

I sent an email to tellus@vikingcruises.com. Here’s their unenlightening response: —— Thank you for your recent online inquiry. You do still receive a refund when you cancel a shore excursion. Please note, the list of booked shore excursions is sent to the ship roughly a week prior to departure, and at that point you will not be able to book or cancel any excursions on My Viking Journey. Once onboard, excursions must be cancelled two days prior to the date of the excursion itself, so the first few days of excursions would be non-refundable once you're within a week from departure. If we can be of any further assistance at this time, please email us or contact us at 888-663-8454. —— I have asked for clarification (again) about whether the refund is sent to my card pre-cruise or if it becomes shipboard credit.

Before we cruised a few years ago, we booked our excursions online then changed our minds about one of them. I was able to cancel it in MVJ, and a refund duly appeared a week or so later on our credit card. I’m about to sign up for our next cruise’s excursions. But I just came across this in the FAQ on MVJ: “Please note, whether an optional tour is booked through My Viking Journey or on board, refunds are only processed on board and will be applied as a credit toward your shipboard account balance. Should you have a negative balance at the end of your voyage, the refund toward your credit card will be processed on board. Please allow 14 business days for this to reflect on your statement.” Has anyone canceled an excursion online recently? If so, how was your refund handled? Did you get a credit back to your card before the cruise, or was it applied to your shipboard account during the cruise? If it’s truly the latter, we’ll just opt for included excursions only. There’s a chance we will have to cancel this cruise, and I don’t want to end up with yet more money in vouchers.

Thanks. Found it on the guest statement, Times aren’t showing up in my MVJ calendar for some reason. That’s where I checked first.

Smart. Thanks.

I could swear I saw this information in MVJ but now I can’t find it. How can I find out what times our ship arrives and departs from each port? We’re looking at booking some private excursions, so that info would be helpful.

Interesting. How did you find that out? I’d like to check on how September weather typically affects these ports.

In my experience, most interactions are much nicer and certainly less polarizing in person than online. Something about social media brings out the worst in many of us. My advice: skip any online discussion you find aggravating or unhelpful. It almost certainly isn’t representative of the interaction you’ll experience onboard. Enjoy your upcoming cruises!

Well, it is the title of your post.

I’ll second this. Of course it depends on what you both enjoy, but there’s a lot to be said for traveling on your own during a honeymoon. For one thing, your time is your own, no need to watch the clock and get to the Next Scheduled Thing. Cruises (or organized land tours) can feel more structured — especially if you sign up for excursions. No sleeping in if you have to make it to your bus by 8 a.m!

Viking is great, but not if you’re hoping for a high degree of age diversity. We did meet one newly married couple in their 20s on our cruise, but most of the people we met were retired.

It’s stories like these that make me realize how old we are. I lived for some years in Asia back in the ‘80s. We were 5 hours’ drive from the closest phone. I called family in the US once a year, and it cost about $25 for a few minutes. A couple of international operators had to put you through. We sent aerograms (remember those?) because they were cheaper and quicker than sending envelopes. Turnaround time between sending a letter and receiving a response was a minimum of 2 weeks, sometimes closer to a month. We’ve seen some amazing changes in our lifetimes, too!

Down with the petty bourgeoisie! Blue jeans and baseball caps everywhere for all! 🧢

My MVJ has dropped the “Travel Safely” page altogether. Our original cruise-specific documents are still unchanged.

Heh. Not going there. The Great Testing Wars wore me out too much to dive back into the Proper Wardrobe Skirmishes right now. Try me again in a month or two.

That’s what I would have assumed, too. When we cruised on Viking pre-Covid, people seemed quite friendly and gregarious.

We love the World Cafe, too, and this sums it up nicely. I also like that you can control portion sizes yourself and get small bites of various things. And we didn’t have to dress up after a long day excursioning.

We’re actually in a similar situation. Waiting on some tests, won’t know until some time in July. I do hope things work out well for you and you get to go.

Oh, the waffle at Mamsen’s. Cardamom batter, with caramelized cheese and fruit. Sounds weird but it’s fabulous! I don’t usually like waffles, but I dream about this one.

What about Liverpool? That’s the port I’m most at loose ends about. We’re not Beatles fans, so that’s out. Other Viking excursions include Knowsley Hall or Arley Hall, which I’m not familiar with. Thoughts? We’re open to doing a non-Viking tour, or just doing our own thing if we had some idea where to go. Part of me is thinking this might make a nice sea day since we have only one during the cruise. Recommendations welcome.

We liked the Chef’s Table best of the three main restaurants, but it depended on the evening’s menu, which changes. Check ahead when onboard and swap nights if necessary to get a menu that appeals to you (it’s posted in advance). We loved the World Buffet. Casual and surprisingly good. We also enjoyed having breakfast in our room most mornings via room service, which was extremely prompt. We usually had early excursions, so it was great to be able to have breakfast delivered beforehand.

We’re going to Highgate Cemetery, a major London highlight for me when I was there long ago. It’s basically the perfect cemetery. Unfortunately I hear they’ve cleaned it up quite a bit since then. It was quite wild and beautifully neglected when I saw it.

There it is!!! HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!

The website briefly updated last night and then reverted to its original text. But over on the other cruise discussion site, many current passengers are posting pictures of letters like this one. So it looks like Viking will make an announcement soon.

Yes, I’m seeing these letters now posted on TheOtherSite for River ships as well. I would not have guessed that Viking’s test policy was so tightly coupled with the CDC’s requirement. Or maybe it was just a great excuse to stop. Either way, hallelujah!!