surfcitygirl

My husband uses a "Super Handy" scooter, which weighs 23 pounds but holds 250 lbs. It has fit through the door in every cabin on our last five cruises, different ships and lines and we push it past the bed and let it sit by the couch, which we never use anyway. If the ramp from the ship is too step, a crew member helps, but mostly can do it himself. For excursions, we book ones with a bus and it fits in the luggage compartment and we take it out at each stop, giving the driver a tip at the end for opening and closing the compartment.

On 12/30/2023 at 11:37 AM, Daruma said:

 

I'm not sure how accurate the information is, but there are several folks who've posted in various food/restaurant threads here that you can ask them to serve the filet WITHOUT the "frog grass" and avoid the $10 surcharge. 🤷‍♂️

I tried that on the Jewel last fall, but they wouldn't go for it. Had to pay the $10 and the filet wasn't good at all.

On 11/28/2023 at 6:52 PM, tobique33040 said:

This sounds a very promising strategy. We are older ladies and this might work for us. Thank you. 

We did the same last year. Worked great. We booked the bus ahead of time with  no issues.

46 minutes ago, dawcruiser said:

I have a Golden Buzzaround XL what kind do you have?  Is your cabin for handicapped people?

My husband's is a Super Handy. Just a regular cabin, not handicapped. We have taken it on quite a few cruises and it has always fit through the door. 

Ours fits through the door and we charge it in the cabin.

I have actually done the no show and it worked. But it wasn't NCL.

Instead of gaining weight as usual, on Viking Sea I lost five pounds. Don't expect that on Journey , embarking June 17.

1 hour ago, H2Otstr said:

I read on MVJ that we have to complete a special form to enter Puerto Rico. I haven't gone through the whole application yet, but just wanted to alert everyone in case one doesn't know about this. I found it under Before You Go. We also have to complete the VeriFly form to enter Brazil. 

Barbados also requires a form.

10 hours ago, cruisewiscrrq said:

First time  Viking ocean cruiser. On Mars Viking Homelands June 20th. DV cabin. Have noticed on various cc boards about difficulty in getting optional excursions in this category of cabin.  Have done many private tours on other ships, so that is not the issue.  However the one excursion I really want is Flam Railroad.  There does not appear to be any private tours out of Eidnfjord.  Should I book one out of Bergen?  Or will this likely open up on board?

When we cruised to Eidnfjord I just booked directly with the Flam railroad. The station is practically right at the dock, just a few minutes walk. 

On 11/11/2022 at 2:31 PM, CCWineLover said:

Don't worry - you will get what you desire when onboard.  Since COVID Viking has set aside from 50-70 % of the tables for booking on-board.  We are also early diners and have never had an issue getting any reservations before 7:30 when we arrive onboard.  Also, just keep checking if you do have issues, as people cancel - a Viking rep told me that often 50% of the prebooked reservations get cancelled by people when they are onboard.

Thanks so much for your response.

We booked a PV2 and tried to book for two at both Manfredi's and Chef Table about one half hour after priority booking opened and couldn't get anything before 8:30  or 9 PM and Chef's Table also still doesn't list which menu is offered for which night. We were told to ask when we board, since we are early diners and certainly don't want to be forced to eat that late.

Our predeparture info was changed late in the day on the 14th. We board on Saturday, the 18th.

On 4/17/2022 at 10:45 AM, secretcinderella said:

"Due to operational changes, the Churchill on the Hudson Bay extension is no longer available. We apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause. A full refund for the canceled extension will be credited to your original form of payment within the next 20 business days."

 

That was it.  No idea if it was due to not reaching a minimum number of participants or tour operator issues.  Regardless, the results are the same.  Yes, we were very disappointed after having planned this for 2 years.  But we have plenty of company in that boat due to the last few years. 

 

Thanks,

Cindy 

I would say it was cancelled because it is not polar bear season on the Hudson Bay. I noticed the tour option when we booked and wondered why it was offered. Polar Bear season starts in late September but the peak is mid to late October. We were on a NatHab tour to Churchill in late October 2022 and it was fantastic. Had at least 23 encounters, with quite a few close up, the a bear leaning against our Rover. NatHab is an expert at these tours and would highly recommend them. 

We were on the first Symphony cruise to Bermuda and we are also big Azamara fans. We have the Black Sea booked for June 2022 on the Onward. We loved our experience on the Symphony. We had quickly booked when we saw the great deal online and grabbed for a chance to experience Crystal. We loved the food and entertainment especially and would do it again with a deal as you indicated also. But our experience with Azamara has until now been our favorite overall. 

3 hours ago, JerseyGem said:

Where are you located in NJ?  We are in Camden County and trying to find a place that will do the PCR test with a reasonable turn-around time.  Used CVS last  Monday but still waiting for results (today's Thursday).  So we've eliminated CVS as a possibility for Bermuda regs.  

We have gone twice now to Test Now and Go in Malvern PA, which is a drive thru. Got tests back in the evening of the same day. They promise 24 hour turnaround.

8 hours ago, goldmom said:

I have been researching this also.  Some CVS locations do offer a PCR test but they call it a PCR/NAAT so I don't know if that's acceptable for Bermuda. Just as some Walgreen's do PCR and just lists their test as PCR but neither will guarantee test results in the 24-36 hour window.

The search continues

I don't know where in NJ you live, but we are in central jersey and drove about an hour and a half to a lab in Malvern PA (west of Philly, called Test Now andGo which promised results within 24 hours but we got them in about 12. We were going on a Viking Ocean cruise in Bermuda and the results were accepted no problem by Bermuda. We will be using the same lab again for our upcoming Crystal Cruise from NYC to Bermuda.

My husband and I just came back from our first cruise using a mobility scooter. He bought the Atto scooter which folders up to look like a carryon, splits in two pieces and can be put in overhead bin or flight attendant's closet. It worked wonderfully, even uphill. Drove it to the door of the plane, folded it, and put in bin. Charged it every night and used it throughout the ship. The crew even gave him "speeding tickets"!

We were on the 15th sailing. Viking gave us a copy of the saliva PCR test from the final full day of the cruise to present at the airline checkin desk. Did not have a Nasal swab.

Azulann - some additional answers to your questions. We just returned and didn't do Cruise Critic while gone.

Pool Roof open - yes, but dependent on the weather

People in hot tub and infinity pool. I loved hanging over the back. Limits were 4  to 6 people and usually most complied. Towards the end a few more at a time.

There were 4 speakers daily, mostly about astronomy and Bermuda.

Excursions were good - we did only Boat tour of bay pointing out famous properties and their owners and the catamaran, which included a lot of time to swim and snorkel in a beautiful bay and the sail out on the way back.

Music - guitar, duo, pianist mostly in atrium. # shows with singers - ABBA, Beatles, Pop.

Chef's Table - Asian and Mexican.

We were the first people on the ship at around 11 AM. First to be served at the World Buffet for lunch. It was an experience we will never forget. The staff in the buffet were just so excited to have passengers to serve and be working again that their eyes said it all. So much emotion and excitement. This pretty much continued for the entire cruise. 

The food was generally very good. We thought they handled the different issues covid presented very well. No complaints.

We did not have an issue at the airport since we arrived three days early. We got through the airport in about half an hour. The airport is quite small and having 3-4 full flights at the same time would be a lot for them to handle.

1 hour ago, Respbj said:

Thanks for the info we are going to Malvern PA tomorrow for our test, you give me hope!

Thank you! Hope to see you on the Orion.

22 hours ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Unfortunately, due to an injury sustained over the weekend, we have had to cancel our Bermuda trip 😞  Glad we got the Viking trip insurance.  I will check in in a week or two to see how the Guinea Pigs are doing!  Happy sailing!

Sorry to hear the bad news. will miss meeting you. Have an wonderful anniversary. 

16 hours ago, hfjas006 said:

Surf city girl, Did you receive your travel authorization? Since we scheduled a test at Test Now and Go, I just wanted to make sure Bermuda accepted the test results from them. Thanks!

We did receive our travel authorizations yesterday, within 10 hours of applying, so the covid test we got was accepted, you should be fine.   We got the test earlier than the passengers boarding on June 15 because we arrive in Bermuda on the 12th, designed to avoid the possible problems with testing on the weekend. 

Azulann, we drove an hour to a Philly suburb to get tested yesterday at Test Now and Go, affiliated with Genetworx at 11 AM and were promised 24 hour turnaround. They supposedly have their own lab and don't send it out elsewhere. The results were in my inbox when I got up this morning, so we were  quite satisfied. Cost $100 each. Have applied for Bermuda Travel Authorization and ready to go, after many anxious moments.

Ragnar, thanks for calling the Orion for the testing info. You really know how to get things done! See you soon.

We're one of the 6/15 "guinea pigs" but flying out 6/12. Just got our covid test today and holding our breath for it's speedy result. Also still waiting for the Pending to disappear on Verifly, but sounds like a call will help.  Thank you. Hoping to meet the other 10 or so in the Explorer's Lounge. 

another thank you for @richwmn. What you started has grown into a daily read for so many.