Iceland's Natural Beauty General - 2022

[SantaFe1]

I saw this too, and it gave me hope.  Thanks for posting it!

[Peregrina651]

Great information, Duke. I hope you are able to keep supplying us with information on how this works out.

 

It will be interesting to hear which of these protocols work and which don't. It will also be interesting to see if things will be handled the same in Iceland, especially since there is an airport transfer involved for all of us.

 

Santafe1, this may answer your question about waiting on the dock.

[TayanaLorna]

Help!  Last weekend I logged into MVJ to see if excursions were up yet.  There were 2 documents to read with checkboxes.  I went into each document, quickly scanned it and checked the boxes thinking i could go back and carefully read them at another time.  All I wanted to do is see if SHOREX were up!  I cannot find these 2 documents on MVJ now.  I looked at all the tabs.  Anyone have a link to them?

[SantaFe1]

3 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

Santafe1, this may answer your question about waiting on the dock.

I was especially pleased to see this because it corroborated what the Viking rep told me.  Except she didn’t say we could wait in our cabin while awaiting Viking test results.  That would be wonderful, but seems to defeat the purpose.

[anaco_angler]

I have seen numerous references to these two documents from Viking but to date they have not appeared on our MVJ. I hope this won't be a problem.

 

[SantaFe1]

I’ve never seen them, and we are on the first cruise.

[eldercruser1]

9 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

I’ve never seen them, and we are on the first cruise.

These documents are merely updates of the Viking Covid19 Policies and Procedures (updated May11_ and the Viking Covid 19 Privacy Notice updated May 15.  I am sure you find them on the Viking web site.

[TayanaLorna]

1 minute ago, eldercruser1 said:

These documents are merely updates of the Viking Covid19 Policies and Procedures (updated May11_ and the Viking Covid 19 Privacy Notice updated May 15.  I am sure you find them on the Viking web site.

Thanks, did not look there.  Only in MVJ.

[Peregrina651]

27 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Thanks, did not look there.  Only in MVJ.

 

For some reason beyond comprehension, Viking has failed to add those two links to the MVJ footer.

[TayanaLorna]

32 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

For some reason beyond comprehension, Viking has failed to add those two links to the MVJ footer.

Found them both in Viking.com but they were way at the bottom of the page with the titles in small print.  Go figure.

[jtwind]

2 hours ago, Dukefan said:

Here is what I just found on the UK cruise site which is the first cruises Viking has sailing:

 

"Key points from the latest update received by email from Viking:

• Upon arrival at the cruise terminal, passengers will be provided with a welcome pack containing a cruise card and a contact-tracing dongle.
• After passing through security, a designated shuttle bus will transfer passengers to the ship. Passengers will then proceed to their stateroom where they will be required to provide a saliva sample. Passengers are asked to refrain from consuming any food or beverage item or smoking for at least one hour before submitting the saliva sample.
• While waiting for the test results, vaccinated guests will be able to use the public spaces onboard while observing current mask and social distancing requirements, or they may remain in their statement and enjoy a welcome snack and complimentary refreshments.
• Passengers will be tested periodically on board the ship as required by Viking.
• All guests must leave the ship by 8:30AM on the morning of departure."

Has Viking or Iceland published contact tracing rules for this cruise?  Time limits?  Indoors or outdoor? etc?

[AKexplorer]

16 hours ago, Cruiser1854 said:

Actually when I saw the silver sprits promo, i called Viking directly.  The agent was ready to rebook me with the promo with the same cabin. In my situation it turned out I had the previous promo price so it was not worth it.   So I think getting the silver spirit package is doable.

Good news! At first Viking told our TA that we'd have to cancel and rebook in order to have the promotional drinks package added to our booking. I suggested he mention that modifying the current booking had been done for others who had paid a fare equal to the currently posted fare just a day or so before the promotion began and we could get supporting information if they needed it. I guess a little knowledge is very helpful because that was  sufficient for them to just go ahead and add the package to our current booking. In my mind it didn't make a whole lot of sense for Viking to do all that extra work just to end up with the same outcome.

Many thanks to all!

[Dukefan]

1 hour ago, jtwind said:

Has Viking or Iceland published contact tracing rules for this cruise?  Time limits?  Indoors or outdoor? etc?

Not yet!

[Donaghadee]

I hope we don't have to drag around a brick like this:

 

[jtwind]

20 hours ago, Dukefan said:

Hopefully I'll get my tests results back and be able to participate in the Friday Night Pub Crawl!

Yet, you can't get off the ship unless you are on a Viking excursion.  Is the requirement for Viking only excursions being driven by Viking to protect passengers, or Iceland, to protect its citizens?

[SantaFe1]

7 minutes ago, Donaghadee said:

I hope we don't have to drag around a brick like this:

 

Why do I think this is exactly what we will have to carry?!?

[anaco_angler]

2 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Found them both in Viking.com but they were way at the bottom of the page with the titles in small print.  Go figure.

Now I see them. Thanks for pointing them out. I think they are just revisions of documents I read previously.

 

 

 

[patchicago]

20 minutes ago, Donaghadee said:

I hope we don't have to drag around a brick like this:

 

And if you get within 6 feet of someone who is not on the same booking number as you an alarm will go off!

[TayanaLorna]

57 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

Not yet!

According to the Covid-19 PoliciesAndProcedures-US updated as of May 19:

 

Embarkation Procedure - "Accept and agree to wear/allow contact-tracing technology during your cruise."

 

And then further down the policy under On Board:. Contact Tracing.  "Guests may be assigned small devices at embarkation and may be required to wear such devices throughout the cruise. "

 

Failure to comply with any  policy could be grounds for refusal to embark, reboard after going ashore or other steps deemed necessary - probably booted off the ship. 

 

I doubt if "I didn't know that" will be an excuse.

[TayanaLorna]

18 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

Why do I think this is exactly what we will have to carry?!?

It did say "small device".

[TayanaLorna]

25 minutes ago, jtwind said:

Yet, you can't get off the ship unless you are on a Viking excursion.  Is the requirement for Viking only excursions being driven by Viking to protect passengers, or Iceland, to protect its citizens?

Probably all of the above as well as proving that we can cruise safely with no large outbreaks like in 2020.

[Donaghadee]

1 hour ago, SantaFe1 said:

Why do I think this is exactly what we will have to carry?!?

At least it could have a belt clip?  Nah, that's too convenient.

 

Reminds me of years being tethered to a bloody pager back before cellphones.

[JeriGail]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

It did say "small device".

In the UK only cruise thread, several pax have commented that they received a Viking email saying they would receive a Welcome Pack as they parked that included a "dongle" and their cruise card.  The email didn't say how big the dongle would be or if it included a clip.  Several cruise lines are using bracelets for contact tracing.

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, jtwind said:

Has Viking or Iceland published contact tracing rules for this cruise?  Time limits?  Indoors or outdoor? etc?

 

1 hour ago, jtwind said:

Yet, you can't get off the ship unless you are on a Viking excursion.  Is the requirement for Viking only excursions being driven by Viking to protect passengers, or Iceland, to protect its citizens?

 

Please contact Viking directly with these questions. They will be happy to answer all of these questions for you about their policies and procedures. We can't be responsible for giving you accurate answers since we aren't the ones writing these policies and procedures.

 

Call Viking at 1-866-984-5464

[SantaFe1]

2 hours ago, Donaghadee said:

At least it could have a belt clip?  Nah, that's too convenient.

And with the Quiet box hanging around our necks for all excursions, we should be loaded for bear!