Twitchly

Those phantom remnants of the Berlin Wall are very moving. Thanks for sharing them.

Rhymes with Lace Cook. First word is your visage. Last word is the thing with pages that you read. No idea why it can’t be mentioned here.

Over on The Site That Must Not Be Named, one poster says Viking is only testing at the beginning and end of the River cruise she’s currently on (Paris and Normandy). So there’s hope!

I’m sure you’re right. But I’d rather Viking didn’t try to assume that role in my life. I neither want nor need their protection, such as it is. Daily testing doesn’t exist anywhere else, not in the cruise or hotel industry (imagine if Marriott or Hilton required daily tests), not even in hospitals or nursing homes. Viking’s testing regime seems extremely heavy-handed to me. I recognize that others feel quite differently and enjoy the feeling of being looked after and “kept safe” in a way I personally find oppressive and unhelpful. They are the demographic Viking is targeting with its daily testing, not me. So after our voucher cruise, we’re done. It makes me sad because I love the rest of Viking’s excellent product. But thankfully there are other wonderful ways to see the world.

https://www.kwwl.com/news/national/us-airlines-travel-industry-push-white-house-to-end-pre-travel-testing/article_65f70b04-e22f-5a4d-897c-36f93d0d8e79.html There’s hope …

DH got a big kick out of your bus shot and commentary. 😜

Thanks for the update. I’m so glad this finally happened for you all.

@pontac I’m seeing two versions on the website: Duluth to Ushuaia and Ushuaia to Milwaukee. There are other (shorter) cruises that begin or end in Toronto.

We’ll probably get a PCR test for accuracy (especially to see if I’m still testing positive after my Covid bout) and have a proctored antigen test waiting in the wings in case the PCR one doesn’t come through in time. We shouldn’t have a problem getting a free PCR test. DH is pretty much always around people with Covid these days, and I’m always around him, so … We’ll take proctored tests with us as well to use in Bergen before we fly home, assuming the US still has this idiotic policy in September.

We would sign up for a cruise like that in a heartbeat!

Michiganders are like Australians: you run into them everywhere.

Thanks for the heads up. Yes, Viking accepts antigen tests done up to 24 hours before embarking on your first international flight or starting your first Viking pre-cruise activity. Have you logged in to My Viking Journey yet? That’s where you’ll find the most up-to-date info about Viking requirements for your cruise. See the Before You Go section.

OK, world cruisers — time to sign up for the new 2023 expedition world cruises. Looks like a great trip, from Canada to Antarctica. I want to be able to live vicariously through you, so please don’t delay!

Yes! We didn’t even have to go into the airport. There was a driver waiting right outside the plane.

I did once. Sadly, it was wasted on me. I was young and idealistic and had just returned from spending 6 months in one of the poorest countries in Africa. The cognitive dissonance was too much. I’d love to have another chance! ✈️

That’s a good question. I wonder the same. I know people who have gotten it more than once. But on the other hand, DH — who got Covid at the very beginning — hasn’t gotten it again in spite of treating Covid patients, attending the same events I did where 30+ people got it (including me), and not distancing from me at all when I had it a few weeks ago. On the other other hand, if we’d been testing every day a la Viking, maybe we would’ve discovered otherwise.

Sorry to hear it, Rotonda. Glad you’re symptom-free. And glad Trip Mate will consider your onboard quarantine to be a trip interruption. Our insurance company won’t. Did you get moved to another room, or are you still in your initial one? I don’t understand why Customs has to get involved with disembarking Canadians into Canada. Must be some maritime law thing.

On Viking Ocean, it’s thankfully easy enough to avoid people who get political. Nice big ship, no required seating at dinner. I don’t care where you fall on the political spectrum; I’m not interested in talking about it. On the other hand … years ago I cruised with another line and had an assigned seat for dinner. One of my fellow diners was a litigation lawyer for a tobacco company. Oy. He was initially combative and tough to be around, and I skipped dinner more than once. But interestingly, by the end of the cruise he had mellowed enough to share his misgivings about what he did and about the profession in general. And we ended up having some good talks. I still wouldn’t ever recommend assigned seating at dinner, but if I had just walked away from this guy at the beginning and never engaged with him again, he would’ve always remained nothing more than a stereotype to me. Instead, he became human. So I’ll still avoid political discussion whenever possible, but when it becomes unavoidable, I look for ways to see the fellow human being rather than just a stereotype. There’s enough division in the world.

Wow, that seems like a lot of staff turnover in just a few months. Do you know whether most of them moved on to other Viking ships, or what? The ice bar looks fun. Can’t imagine working there, though. Brrrrr!

Where have you gotten tested for antibodies? That’s something we might want to look into before getting a second booster.

Recovering from Covid within Viking’s 90-day window would feel like winning a lottery. I missed it by a month.

I’m having trouble finding them online under that name. Any suggestions?

Same here. Though I didn’t really ask for it, just asked my doctor if he thought I needed it and he said no. I never progressed past cold symptoms, so he was right. The only one of our Covid group of 30+ people who did get the antiviral was in her 80s and somewhat fragile health. She did fine.

Over on the site that must not be named, the general consensus is not really. If you test positive once, you’re immediately quarantined off the ship (River) or on the ship (Ocean). For River, you’re pretty much done with the cruise at that point. For Ocean, you continue to get tested onboard each day, but aside from that things seem to vary depending on the cruise. The minimum time in quarantine appears to be five days, no matter how you test after that initial positive. This is all just anecdotal. But far as I know, Viking hasn’t stated specifics about their quarantine policies. So anecdotal is what we’ve got.