Iceland's Natural Beauty General - 2022

[Doc who loves to travel]

We just bought these rain suits at Amazon. Good reviews and price. Hopefully we won't need them!!!!! https://amzn.to/3ox9wvh

[Travel2Learn]

4 minutes ago, Doc who loves to travel said:

We just bought these rain suits at Amazon. Good reviews and price. Hopefully we won't need them!!!!! https://amzn.to/3ox9wvh

Thanks for posting this.  

[id4elizabeth]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

 

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

Funny - Viking hasn't answered any of my questions whether on Live Chat, calling them on the phone, or  emailing via tellus@Viking.  All I get to any question is "we're still working on that", "soon", "we don't know", or "we'll email you when that becomes available."  

[cfgrandma]

1 hour ago, Doc who loves to travel said:

We just bought these rain suits at Amazon. Good reviews and price. Hopefully we won't need them!!!!! https://amzn.to/3ox9wvh

I am with you.  We too have bought raingear with the hope that we won't need it.  We are doing the July 20th cruise and I looked up on Weather.com the July 2020 calendar and the week of the 20th was dry.  Praying for same results for this year. 

[TayanaLorna]

2 hours ago, Doc who loves to travel said:

We just bought these rain suits at Amazon. Good reviews and price. Hopefully we won't need them!!!!! https://amzn.to/3ox9wvh

Those are the ones we bought last month.  Thought they were very nicely constructed and designed.  

[Peregrina651]

22 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Those are the ones we bought last month.  Thought they were very nicely constructed and designed.  

 

My problem is the inseam. I need a petite and the only one I could find in my size and a 29" inseam was this one. Should be delivered here tomorrow and I can report on it.

 

Arctix Women's River Rain Pant, Black, X-Large (16-18) Short

 

DH got the same brand in men's with a choice of inseam

[jtwind]

On 4/20/2021 at 10:31 AM, Peregrina651 said:

 

But a few questions. Have we actually heard from Viking that we cannot share tables with non "family" members and that we cannot organize an M&M? And is the testing period 48 hours or 72 hours? I have now heard both.

Check with Viking?  (Sorry)

Edited May 20, 2021 by jtwind

[SantaFe1]

So, on a happier note:  we are sitting here tonight listening to classical guitar music.  I wonder what the music will be.  Piano, classical duo/trio, guitar?  Always a favorite time with cocktails pre- dinner.  i ook forward to that and hope they can round up the ,musicians.

[jtwind]

Upthread, I think someone mentioned concern about false positives.  (Can't find it.)  I've done some reading and have not been able to find any info indicating that false negatives aren't still the bigger problem.  If you've had an exposure a few days before taking one of the tests, you'll show negative.

 

I think (and hope) everything will be ok, but this is still a risky endeavor for both Viking and Iceland.  Much of it will have to do with how contagious vaccinated, asymptomatic people really are.

[SantaFe1]

So, I’ve kept quiet about this, and you can crucify me and probably will, but just don’t go!!

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, SantaFe1 said:

So, on a happier note:  we are sitting here tonight listening to classical guitar music.  I wonder what the music will be.  Piano, classical duo/trio, guitar?  Always a favorite time with cocktails pre- dinner.  i ook forward to that and hope they can round up the ,musicians.

 

I wonder what new additions we can expect to the play list. It is stale at this points and could use some replacement pieces.   

 

I'm throwing out  a few thoughts----

 

Welcome Back, Kotter theme song?

Wilkommen from Cabaret (the Joel Gray version, please)

 

 

 

 

[Hockeyump]

8 hours ago, SantaFe1 said:

So, I’ve kept quiet about this, and you can crucify me and probably will, but just don’t go!!

I'm with you on this.  There are so many comments on various threads about concerns, anxieties, unanswered questions and unclear guidance that why would anyone want to put themselves through it. If you've booked the 5th or 6th cruise then maybe all the issues will have been resolved but being so keen to return to cruising to jump on the early ones was always going to give concerns.

 

I like an anticipatory and positive build up to a holiday which these experiences certainly aren't.  I only hope everyone gets it right and makes it to sail away and not find themselves on a plane back home having missed a vital bit of paperwork!

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 5/18/2021 at 4:52 PM, patchicago said:

I would be very grateful to those of you cruising before my 8/3 sailing if you would learn what you can about communal dining tables while on your cruise. I’m traveling solo and am concerned that in their zeal to maintain physical distancing during meals there won’t be any shared tables for singles and I will be required to eat all meals alone. This is an not an issue in the WC but in specialty restaurants I’m not likely to find a random open seat at someone’s dinner table.
I don’t mind eating alone most meals but there are some times when I’m in the mood for company. so, keep an eye open for solo travelers and please share anything you learn. I hope you have a terrific time and are able to book all the excursions you want.

 

Thanks! Pat.

Hi Pat.  I'm on your 8/3 cruise.  I don't know how the tables will be spaced out for these new restart cruises in the age of Covid.  However, pre-Covid many tables in The Restaurant (main dining room) were spaced pretty close to each other, with lots of tables for 2, and fewer tables for 4 or greater.  So even if a person ate alone, they weren't eating all that far away from someone else - at least not for dinner, when the dining room is usually the fullest.  And to a lesser extent, at the Chef's Table specialty restaurant, many tables are within talking or almost-talking distance of people at another table.  And the "sort of" buffet option known as World Cafe should not be totally ignored unless you really don't like anything approaching a buffet.  Tables may be spaced in such a way that you're not far away from someone if that's your choice.  And at Mamsen's many tables are fairly close together, and you can choose where you want to sit.  Of course, with Covid, all of this information, based on my past experience, may no longer be valid.  But I thought it would be useful to post it since you're traveling alone.  You may be traveling alone, but you'll likely meet at least a few kindred souls on board who will be willing to sit with you, assuming that's allowed.  

 

I eat breakfast alone (Restaurant, or Mamsens) more than once in a while, since my spouse is a late person and I'm an early person.  It's certainly not unheard of.  And since we're on the same cruise, if you ever want to eat with or near us or me, feel free to contact us/ me.  Hopefully most of us will be able to meet on board, if not before (on the flight there?  look for those red Viking tags!)

[Heartgrove]

On a positive note it appears that Icelandair has been preparing for the upswing in traffic. They have been bringing planes back from long-term storage in dry loacations this past month. Today their "Northern Lights" livieried plane TF-FIU (Heckla Aurora) is doing a test flight around Iceland.

 

Copied from Wikipedia, Photo by Markus Eigenheer

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by Heartgrove

[FLORIDA FLOUNDER]

On 5/8/2021 at 10:04 PM, FLGators#1 said:

When we signed up for this cruise we realized we would be in the Viking bubble for tours.  However what we did not realize is that we would not be able to get on certain popular Viking tours because they are ALL SOLD OUT. Basically we will be circumnavigating Iceland and going out to dinner on a cruise ship. Not happy cruisers here.  That there is only one time slot available for some tours is ridiculous. The ship is not operating at 100% capacity.Only about 725 guests.There is no information on whether they will be adding tours. We are ready to travel. We understand and are ready to comply with the Viking bubble but not having tours available by Viking for us to go on ...is penalizing us.We will cancel if tours do not open up, because what is the point? Does anyone have thoughts or suggestions? We are on the first sailing 26 June.

We're in the same boat (pun intended😜) although we're on the July 3rd sailing. I've emailed tell-us, spoken to several different Viking people and what they said to me was that we have 3 options...

1. keep looking every single day and hopefully more optional tours will open

2. cancel the trip before the 14 day mark

3. take the trip with the possibility of sitting on the ship without going on any tours

None of the options are appealing but I'll probably wait and see how things play out and if I need to cancel then I will. 

[FLORIDA FLOUNDER]

22 hours ago, AKexplorer said:

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!

Exactly. Same situation...I called and at first the agent said no but then put me on eternal hold and came back to say I'd have to cancel and rebook with the promotion. I explained to her it would cause a lot of extra work and aggravation so she put me on eternal hold once again. Finally she returned and said yes, she would be able to add the drink package promotion. I think that should be an automatic...once they add a promotion after you book and pay in full, Viking should add the promotion automatically with no questions asked.

😃Just sayin!

[FLORIDA FLOUNDER]

On 5/18/2021 at 6:05 PM, AKexplorer said:

Evidently I missed out on the included Silver Spirits package - didn't see anything about that on the 8/3 cruise when we booked 😞

 

Call them. Mine was added after the fact. 😃

[FLORIDA FLOUNDER]

On 5/18/2021 at 6:02 PM, DaveSJ711 said:

Thanks to the included Silver Spirits package, the Iceland cruises will be traveling pub crawls! I can only imagine what everyone will look like as they stumble down the gangway when disembarking.

Only for those who have excursions booked.😩

At the moment, nothing is available for me to book. May have to become a bar-fly and drink my sorrows away.🤪

[Delhi Ocean Cruiser]

On 5/18/2021 at 5:05 PM, AKexplorer said:

Evidently I missed out on the included Silver Spirits package - didn't see anything about that on the 8/3 cruise when we booked 😞

 

The early bookings when the Welcome Back cruises were first announced did not include the SS package. But the cruise fare was lower then. Advice from my college days, “ There are no free lunches.”

[Peregrina651]

30 minutes ago, FLORIDA FLOUNDER said:

I think that should be an automatic...once they add a promotion after you book and pay in full, Viking should add the promotion automatically with no questions asked.

 

Not gonna happen.

 

The only reason they are letting you add the promo is because the promo was announced mid-month. Those of us who book your sailing back in April, when the Welcome Back cruises were first announced have no hope of getting the package added, just as you have no hope of getting the promo that was on offer when we booked. There is no lowest price guarantee as is promoted by other cruise lines. It is not Viking's business model and never has been.

[Donaghadee]

Just wondering, how much do you have to drink to break even on the Silver Spirits package?

I know we looked at it years ago and came to the conclusion that our livers weren't up to the task.

Anything change?

[patchicago]

2 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Hi Pat.  I'm on your 8/3 cruise.  I don't know how the tables will be spaced out for these new restart cruises in the age of Covid.  However, pre-Covid many tables in The Restaurant (main dining room) were spaced pretty close to each other, with lots of tables for 2, and fewer tables for 4 or greater.  So even if a person ate alone, they weren't eating all that far away from someone else - at least not for dinner, when the dining room is usually the fullest.  And to a lesser extent, at the Chef's Table specialty restaurant, many tables are within talking or almost-talking distance of people at another table.  And the "sort of" buffet option known as World Cafe should not be totally ignored unless you really don't like anything approaching a buffet.  Tables may be spaced in such a way that you're not far away from someone if that's your choice.  And at Mamsen's many tables are fairly close together, and you can choose where you want to sit.  Of course, with Covid, all of this information, based on my past experience, may no longer be valid.  But I thought it would be useful to post it since you're traveling alone.  You may be traveling alone, but you'll likely meet at least a few kindred souls on board who will be willing to sit with you, assuming that's allowed.  

 

I eat breakfast alone (Restaurant, or Mamsens) more than once in a while, since my spouse is a late person and I'm an early person.  It's certainly not unheard of.  And since we're on the same cruise, if you ever want to eat with or near us or me, feel free to contact us/ me.  Hopefully most of us will be able to meet on board, if not before (on the flight there?  look for those red Viking tags!)

Thanks for the response and the offer to share a table. I’ve been on a couple of Viking ocean cruises so I’m familiar with the restaurant seatings during before times. Because of social distancing I’m expecting that there will be fewer tables at restaurants and they will be further apart which will make conversation across tables not particularly easy.

I enjoy my own company so I’ll be OK if there are no community tables. My biggest regret is that I won’t be able to try anyone else’s appetizers at Manfredi’s!

I look forward to meeting you onboard. Pat.

[TayanaLorna]

38 minutes ago, Donaghadee said:

Just wondering, how much do you have to drink to break even on the Silver Spirits package?

I know we looked at it years ago and came to the conclusion that our livers weren't up to the task.

Anything change?

3-4 drinks in the $5-6 range to spend $18-20 per day. SSP is a little less then $20 per day.

 

[Peregrina651]

43 minutes ago, Donaghadee said:

Just wondering, how much do you have to drink to break even on the Silver Spirits package?

I know we looked at it years ago and came to the conclusion that our livers weren't up to the task.

Anything change?

 

No changes.  Two cocktails and a glass of wine per day should do it. Or one $15 cocktail and a glass of the premium wine - a bit easier on the liver and better on the tastebuds?

Edited May 20, 2021 by Peregrina651

[Donaghadee]

Now I remember why we don't go with the Silver Spirits Deal:

PV3+ cabins are restocked daily with soft drinks, 4 single serve bottles of strong stuff and a couple of cans of beer.  Then there's more beer and plenty of passable wine included with lunch and dinner...

I somehow feel obliged to consume all of it, and it's plenty.  Urp...