MarkBearSF

Fingers crossed here. Also on that first cruise. (I'd love for vax to be required, but since I'm vaxxed, I'm not too concerned either way)

2 hours ago, registrar said:

May I ask who you are using?

I had moved to aardvarkcompare.com.
Now, because of my cancer, I just get the policy my TA offers which has no preconditions clauses (CruiseOne travel agency policy through Aon Affinity and Arch Insurance Company called LeisureCare Luxury). 

On 6/1/2021 at 9:49 AM, What was that? said:

That is my interpretation. As these policies may vary from state-to-state, and possibly with the traveler's age (we are 76), it is probably a good thing to check any policy you are offered (or have bought) to ensure you have the coverage you need/want. 

For what it's worth, the available policies offered by insuremytrip.com drastically declined to almost nothing once my husband reached 70. I found multiple offerings when checking on other sites, with my husband's age fully disclosed and factored into the policy rate. (Other cruises.) My health has changed things since. But yes, that site had drastically limited our choices once one of us reached 70.

It's been a few years, but the previous AMAwaterways ships (the AMAcello, in particular) had quite a few "double deuces" pairs of tables for two placed inches from each other. This worked out well for us, because we could begin talking to each other, but inevitably after a few minutes the chance came to introduce ourselves and start a conversation. In most cases, the next door table was interested in chatting as well but occasionally not. Either situation was fine, and in most cases it was convenient to switch between chatting with your partner and joining into a larger conversation.
(This also is common on the QM2 in their fixed dining restaurants. ....not that they were broken, but the tables are assigned within fixed dining times)

Our favorite experience on earth is a North Atlantic crossing on the QM2. Charging across the sea with a ship purpose-built to tame those very waves and the knockout beauty of that ship compensates for the occasional lapse in service. (We've not cruised on the rest of the current Cunard fleet)

However, the mind wanders and I've been increasingly interested in Viking. We've booked one of the upcoming Bermuda Experience cruises in July. We're very excited. Such beautiful ships and a service level that we'll appreciate, I'm sure. 

Hmm. Since the ship will be doing repeated circuits of Bermuda, I wonder if, on a regular schedule, they may provision most of the stores for the following week on Day 6 in the Dockyard, and just load/unload luggage and assorted odds and ends on turnaround day in Hamilton.

Hey everybody with July trips. Check your MVJ. I was just able to book excursions (July 13 cruise, DV category)

6 hours ago, 100viper said:

Makes sense. Flights for Bermuda seem like a lot more planning than a flight to Nassau. 

And harder to get. I'm on one of the Viking Ocean cruises around Bermuda this summer. These ships are small, 1000 pax and are sailing these itineraries at 50% of capacity. Yet, there are big problems accommodating the 490 passengers on the few scheduled flights. (On our Roll Call, a couple of pax had Delta change their flights to 2 days later - they had overbooked the A319 plane by 20 seats. ...the affected pax were rebooked by Viking onto another itinerary on JetBlue and comped an overnight hotel stay in EWR). There are about six daily flights to Bermuda. I can't imagine the impact of even a smaller Royal Caribbean ship, even at 50% capacity on a non-shared day.

Here's a piece from Bermuda's Royal Gazette on the arrival of Orion in Hamilton. 
https://www.royalgazette.com/tourism/news/article/20210519/viking-cruises-home-port-cruise-ship-to-arrive-on-friday/

Hi guys!  We're on the July 13 Bermuda cruise on the Orion. Quick question by a Viking first timer - is there a regular LGBT/FoD get together on Viking Ocean?

I've cruised with Pied Piper a couple of times. Most recently, we did a NY-Boston July 4 cruise on the QM2 with them. I would not argue with the characterization of the group in an earlier post, but then again, this was on Cunard's QM2, which tends to attract that demographic to start with, so our experience is probably uninstructive.

My primary caution is for those with a regular Travel Agent, and who choose to book with your regular agent through them. (An arrangement they encourage) We did this and it was the worst of both worlds. As the agent of record, Pied Piper was the only one that Cunard dealt with, as is customary. However, PP was a black hole of a brick wall (quite an accomplishment). There were a couple of major screw ups on their part that neither I nor my TA could deal with. It was like a horrible game of telephone, with consequences. In contrast with the bad experience in the back office, on the cruise, the PP host was totally professional, on top of things and charming. 

I personally will not work with them again, but if I see a sailing of theirs that looks interesting, I'd have no issue with working with my TA to book that itinerary. As I've done accidentally in the past, it guarantees a number of gay passengers on that trip, I can still get my own pricing, and only lose out on a couple of closed cocktail parties. 

Hmmmm. We're on that 8/28 Ruby Princess LA-Cabo cruise. I had hoped that Princess would have a few cruises to learn from before our trip. We'll see what happens. Also, it looked like our itinerary was not very heavily booked (It's 5 nights from LA with a single port call at Cabo San Lucas for an overnight. We're not planning on getting off and treating it like a relaxing 5 days at sea). Let's see what happens in the next few weeks!

(Unrelated - We're looking forward to our Viking all-Bermuda cruise in July)

In the "more" about Bermuda category, here's an article on how they're saving their national bird.

https://slate.com/technology/2021/04/bermuda-locals-save-national-bird.html

8 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

I’m assuming you are taking a redeye to a hub?  That will help give a half day of margin.  My DW would not do well on a redeye, thus we have an overnight layover at MIA.  Leaving us with no margin. 

Yup. A red-eye from SFO to ATL. That's why we did our own air to get F for it. (It's really not a lot of time in the air, and I may not actually sleep, at least I'll have a few scotches, so I won't mind too much)

8 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Yes, and that would be ok if it weren’t for the requirement to submit the test results “24 hours before the DAY of arrival”.  This is especially burdensome to anyone coming from the west coast, as we have to do an overnight layover at a hub.

As they mention that arrival day is Day 0. We depart late in the evening of Day 1. 
We're with Kaiser and can get a test in the morning of Day 3. Results should be available on Day 2. (Thus far, I've needed testing 3 times; in each case, results were available the next day) At the worst case scenario, it'll be the day of our departure, Day 1.

A bit tight, but workable in our case.

I think the expectation is that Viking will test onboard - or it could be done onshore in St Georges. Presumably it would be a simple matter to send the results to the local authorities (or vice-versa if they do the test).

I'm certainly happy that we're on a later cruise, July 13, since a lot of it will be decided ad hoc in the beginning, I'm sure. Hopefully by the time ours comes around, much should be smoothed out.

I believe there are a limited number of locations and providers which Bermuda will accept for travelers. Not cheap. In my case, it means ordering from Costco, it seems. 
https://www.azova.com/test/bermuda/covid_19_testing.html

This is from the official Bermuda site - which, of course may be updated in the future.
https://www.gotobermuda.com/bta/press-release/bermuda-tourism-authority-update

As for the other tests. I would assume the if we're moved directly to the ship, that would qualify as our place of accommodation. (Whether we'd be prohibited from Hamilton excursions until the test results are announced is one of my questions)

I also assume that they will do the Day 4 tests aboard or have a location in St Georges, the port on that day. Again as part of an isolated cohort.

I'm hoping that if we're flying out that day, Day 8 would be considered "in transit."

On 4/8/2021 at 9:11 AM, Azulann said:

Great to hear from you. I will be on the Viking Orion ! So excited . Yes , I will post a running review while on board. July 13 -20. I figure Viking will have all the kinks out by our sailing. Looking forward to seeing Bermuda .

We'll be on board that cruise as well. Looking forward to meeting you. I assume you're on the roll call.

For those who may be interested, I just did some research on same sex marriage in Bermuda. The topic first came up 4-5 years ago when their courts ruled that prohibiting it was unconstitutional, thus allowing same sex marriage - the first island or Caribbean nation to do so. (And allowed weddings at sea by the captain for gay couples on Bermuda-registered Cunard ships - as weddings by the captain are allowed in Bermudan law.) Shortly thereafter, there was a change in government and a law was passed prohibiting it, and the right was withdrawn. (Not unlike the case here in California with Prop 8 in 2009) Court cases challenging the prohibition followed and ultimately same sex marriage was allowed again as the government appealed the ruling through the courts, ultimately to the Privy Council in England. In February, the Council panel declined to overturn the ruling, thus exhausting the challenges to same sex marriage on the island. 

Not that I commonly spend a lot of time with local politics when traveling, but being a frequent Cunard passenger, and someone whose marriage was affected directly by the back-and forth in California courts from 2009-13, this one caught my attention. 

With the limitations of excursions in the ports, I suspect that no one on this cruise is likely to try to get married there anyway. 

I just booked one of the Bermuda trips and it's our first Viking Ocean experience. (We're veteran cruisers with 40 cruises behind us, primarily on Cunard, Princess, and HAL.) What advice do you have for us to make the most of our trip?

Some questions

- Can I book the airport transfers online? (We booked our own air because I really didn't want to deal with coach on a red-eye for our departure from SF) Although Bermuda is small, I figure that by doing the transfer, we should be able to take advantage of Viking's COVID procedures. 

- Do specialty restaurant reservations fill up fast? Should we reserve in advance? What are your favorite dining alternatives (including Chef's Table)?

- Is the afternoon tea worthwhile?

- Anything else?

4 hours ago, molymoo said:

At any rate the bar prices are reasonable.  I have attached a link to a menu below.

https://sandinmysuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/VikingOceanCruisesBarMenu.pdf

Thanks. Yes, it does like like the prices we saw on our river cruise a few years ago. (Not on Viking) Not bad at all!

It does remind me of one of the things I liked most about the river cruise - they treated us as adults, didn't nickel-and-dime, and everything about the experience was "reasonable."

I don't know if I could handle a second breakfast, but I'm curious about the "waffle hour."  How does dining room seating work? I assume it's a single open seating?  How important is it to get a reservation for a specialty restaurant early?

Thinking about the drink package. What are the prices of a standard martini (with a call brand gin like Bombay Sapphire or Hendricks) or a scotch on the rocks (Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, or Dewars)

Being a low-key cruiser, I'll appreciate not being nickeled and dimed. (Luckily, there's not a lot of that on our preferred lines) - but will REALLY appreciate not having to deal with being ambushed by a costumed photographer's assistant. And no kids. And I can deal with no casino, although I enjoy spending some time at a friendly blackjack table. 

YAY!  Just booked the July 13th cruise. (Hopefully a lot of the wrinkles will be worked out by then). Our first time on Viking. (Our favorite lines are Cunard, Princess, and HAL) We've cruised to Bermuda a couple of times and have enjoyed it. It would really be great if we could just walk on and off the ship, especially in Hamilton and St Georges, but it'll be great just getting on a ship, in any event. 

I'm hoping that there will be more excursions added later. Since my husband has mobility issues, an excursion to a nice lunch somewhere in port would be great for us. (Assuming we have to do an excursion to leave the ship)

Viking pros - any suggestions for a first-timer?

I saw a report that Cunard named him Commodore upon his retirement. Well-deserved! (But why didn't they do it sooner?)

I wonder what his drink will be in the Commodore Club menu?