Notice from Viking of “enhanced health screenings” outside Asia

[notamermaid]

djh1959,

Not good news all-round. Further countries have reported their first cases. The virus is getting closer to my area. The man seriously ill in hospital has infected a friend who is now in the Koblenz military hospital. The friend is a soldier stationed in Cologne. Therefore the air base at Cologne-Wahn is temporarily closed. Now all contacts of the soldier need to be found.

 

notamermaid

 

[screen-gem]

Viking notified us via email last night of an exception to their cancellation policy:

 

"In view of this we are for the time being making a temporary exception to our cancellation policy so that you can be free to postpone your cruise at any time up until 24 hours before the planned departure, without incurring any cancellation fees. You will be issued a voucher for future travel valid for 24 months, which can be used on any Viking product (river, ocean or expedition). This temporary exception to our standard cancellation policy is applicable for all guests who currently have a reservation with Viking and for all new reservations made through April 30, 2020".

 

It's signed by Richard Marnell,  Executive Vice President.

[Turtles06]

34 minutes ago, screen-gem said:

Viking notified us via email last night of an exception to their cancellation policy:

 

There's a thread about this new policy:

 

 

Edited March 3, 2020 by Turtles06

[Ride-The-Waves]

"Enhanced Health Screenings" do little to determining whether a passenger has the virus.  The self-screening questionnaires are useless.  The virus has an incubation period of between 14 and 24 days based on the best estimates of health officials.  Also unknown is whether a person not showing obvious symptoms is a carrier/transmitter of the virus.  Best self-protection is to follow good health guidelines by washing hands thoroughly and frequently, do not touch hands to face, and avoid touching public hand rails, etc.  Bottom Line: you are as likely to catch something whether at home or traveling.

[timesurfer7]

As of March 11, 2020, Viking is temporarily suspending operations of our river and ocean cruises, for embarkations taking place between March 12 to April 30, 2020. We believe Viking will be in a better place to provide the experiences our guests expect and deserve after this time and plan to resume operations on May 1, 2020, continuing all further sailings as originally planned.

When itinerary changes are required, impacted guests and their travel agents are notified directly by Viking Customer Relations. Please log onto MyVikingJourney.com for details regarding your specific voyage.