Viking crew being vaccinated

[Clay Clayton]

Interesting article and good news!

 

http://crew-center.com/viking-goes-step-further-crew-standby-pay-vaccination-and-testing-labs?fbclid=IwAR0Woz6ZoYu7HeClLgXEB5_LpJqmbxRplrybjEYrSkm2dJAnsLOwVqCdUyM

[JeriGail]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Interesting article and good news!

 

http://crew-center.com/viking-goes-step-further-crew-standby-pay-vaccination-and-testing-labs?fbclid=IwAR0Woz6ZoYu7HeClLgXEB5_LpJqmbxRplrybjEYrSkm2dJAnsLOwVqCdUyM

Fantastic news!  Viking's goal is to have all crew vaccinated by the time cruising resumes.  And, they've been paying the crew while they were in quarantine.

[TayanaLorna]

12 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Interesting article and good news!

 

http://crew-center.com/viking-goes-step-further-crew-standby-pay-vaccination-and-testing-labs?fbclid=IwAR0Woz6ZoYu7HeClLgXEB5_LpJqmbxRplrybjEYrSkm2dJAnsLOwVqCdUyM

Good article.  Thanks.  He doesn't really answer the questions in the interview tho.

[Azulann]

I am glad I am sailing again with Viking Ocean, a great cruise line .

Having an owner from Norway and their Seafarers Union ,  the crew has  benefitted  during the pandemic and now are being vaccinated. 

Having a full saliva testing program on board  also is a benefit for a full  recovery  and getting ships back in water, sailing  with happy  passengers. 

Happy to be part of one of these welcome back cruises in July. 

[basenji56]

I did not write the information below and cannot vouch for its accuracy.  I have no reason to believe the poster is lying.  However, you might ask Viking these questions if you have concerns.  It states that the crew is NOT fully vaccinated.

--------------------------------------------------------------

“Iceland cruisers - after being quite alarmed at recent experiences in Bermuda, I had sent tellus@vikingcruises.com  an email with specific questions. I received a quick personal response that someone would call me back. I then received an email with a name and extension number and have spoken with them at length.  Here's what I asked and was told. If they did not know the answer, they put me on hold and went to find out the answer, so it did take some time.

 

The Viking crew is NOT required to be vaccinated. Viking excursion drivers and guides are also NOT required to be vaccinated. They are required to be masked at all times, 6' of distancing encouraged and to have a two week quarantine before the cruise begins.

 

I asked if she could give me a percentage of crew that was vaccinated and she said only the health officer on the ship would have that information, that she was unable to get it. I asked if she was not able to email to obtain that information and she said they had no way of doing that. I asked if Viking had made official arrangements to vaccinate the crew in a group and as far as she was aware, there are no plans to do so unless required by the country the ship is in. The testing and two week quarantine meet the requirements of Iceland at this time.

 

The contact tracing device alerts off CDC guidelines, which are defined as less than 6' for 15 minutes or more cumulative over one 24 hour period. You could do some quick math and determine that yes, you are more than likely exposed to your server at a meal. For me personally, I will for sure be cancelling my spa appointments thru my Viking rep when we speak next. Sounded lovely but seems reckless right now. My husband and I will be discussing our planned excursions. I feel comfortable with the walk off included ones, but the others are up for discussion for us.

 

The 48 hour cancellation rule for a paid for excursion is in effect. There are no reimbursements if you cancel in less than that time unless of course you have been removed for quarantine.

 

If the ship is anchored and there is tendering to the shore, they do their best, but there is likely not 6' of spacing on the little boat. I asked because I saw a photo from Bermuda that clearly was not meeting any spacing guidelines on that particular tender.

 

In Iceland, if you test positive on the ship from the daily Viking tests, you will remain on the ship in your room with your cabin mate and you will be tested again. If positive a second time, you will then be removed from the ship to a quarantine facility and connected with any necessary medical care. That facility or hotel will vary by port.

 

If you are covered by various trip insurance, check your own coverage for reimbursement guidelines or make your own call to verify. Viking itself is not paying or providing for those accommodations, meals or medical care. If you purchased the Viking Trip Mate insurance (we always do), it will cover your expenses of being quarantined on a reimbursement basis when your claim has been approved. I will be making a follow up call to them tomorrow to ask what would happen to the unused portion of the cruise itself. As a reminder, for the initial Welcome Back (maybe 4 dates?) cruises, the risk free guarantee covers cancelling 14 or more days out.

 

Everything is still changing and Viking is trying to monitor and change as they are learning from each cruise. She said the first Bermuda cruise opened up many issues for them to review, and that review is still ongoing, as well as each country will be different. Therefore, each trip may have some different guidelines or restrictions going forward.

 

It is not necessary to comment that everyone has their own level of risk, not cruising until 2022, etc.  I am simply sharing the information I received to the specific questions I asked."

[Twitchly]

Yeah, I saw that. It’s the opposite of what I’ve seen posted elsewhere here on CC, where someone said all crew for the UK cruise were vaccinated in Malta prior to sailing. Maybe Viking has had to ramp up so quickly that they haven’t been able to keep up with crew inoculations for all ships? 
 

It would be a real kicker if any guests had to quarantine after being around crew who tested positive.
 

Sounds like Viking needs to make an official statement at some point. 

[LindaS272]

 

I wouldn’t believe what TellUs told the FB poster. This is, at best, third hand information. We read, or were told by Tor in a video, that all Viking crew would be vaccinated, as a requirement from the government in the countries Viking will be visiting. I wish I could point you to the source on this, but it’s way back in the threads from weeks ago. It would make no sense whatsoever for Viking to require pax be vaccinated and not the crew. So yes, we are under the assumption, from prior information, that the crew has been vaccinated. We’ve had completely bogus information from TellUs in the past, even when they swore up and down that their information was correct.

[Dukefan]

2 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

 

 

I wouldn’t believe what TellUs told the FB poster. This is, at best, third hand information. We read, or were told by Tor in a video, that all Viking crew would be vaccinated, as a requirement from the government in the countries Viking will be visiting. I wish I could point you to the source on this, but it’s way back in the threads from weeks ago. It would make no sense whatsoever for Viking to require pax be vaccinated and not the crew. So yes, we are under the assumption, from prior information, that the crew has been vaccinated. We’ve had completely bogus information from TellUs in the past, even when they swore up and down that their information was correct.

•  

For the information from Tor that the Viking Crew were being vaccinated, read Clay's post at the top of this thread.

[GonzoWCS]

Thanks for the information Clay!

[LindaS272]

3 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

For the information from Tor that the Viking Crew were being vaccinated, read Clay's post at the top of this thread.

See—I knew it was here somewhere weeks ago! And only a few posts back on this thread! Who knew? 🙂 Thanks, Dukefan.

[bobitegirl]

2 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

 

 

I wouldn’t believe what TellUs told the FB poster. This is, at best, third hand information. We read, or were told by Tor in a video, that all Viking crew would be vaccinated, as a requirement from the government in the countries Viking will be visiting. I wish I could point you to the source on this, but it’s way back in the threads from weeks ago. It would make no sense whatsoever for Viking to require pax be vaccinated and not the crew. So yes, we are under the assumption, from prior information, that the crew has been vaccinated. We’ve had completely bogus information from TellUs in the past, even when they swore up and down that their information was correct.

•  

I just called and the person I talked to at Viking confirmed that all crew MAY not be vaccinated.  She put me on hold and came back and read a statement basically saying they are trying to get all vaccinated as fast as possible. I wish we could get an answer from someone higher in the organization.

[basenji56]

I don't think that Bermuda is a good location to cruise out of.

 

Just saw this message on another group.  Everyone on the plane has been put in quarantine at their own expense for 14 days.

 

"I just read a post on another travel page that a couple who arrived in Bermuda yesterday received a call today that a passenger on their flight tested positive for Covid upon arrival, so all passengers on that flight are being required to quarantine by the Bermuda Health Department. This couple stated that they are fully vaccinated, wore masks the entire travel day & had negative Covid testing upon arrival."

[GonzoWCS]

2 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I don't think that Bermuda is a good location to cruise out of.

 

Just saw this message on another group.  Everyone on the plane has been put in quarantine at their own expense for 14 days.

 

"I just read a post on another travel page that a couple who arrived in Bermuda yesterday received a call today that a passenger on their flight tested positive for Covid upon arrival, so all passengers on that flight are being required to quarantine by the Bermuda Health Department. This couple stated that they are fully vaccinated, wore masks the entire travel day & had negative Covid testing upon arrival."

Uh Oh

[basenji56]

2 hours ago, Dukefan said:

For the information from Tor that the Viking Crew were being vaccinated, read Clay's post at the top of this thread.

Apparently that was a fond hope, not a promise.

 

[basenji56]

15 minutes ago, bobitegirl said:

I just called and the person I talked to at Viking confirmed that all crew MAY not be vaccinated.  She put me on hold and came back and read a statement basically saying they are trying to get all vaccinated as fast as possible. I wish we could get an answer from someone higher in the organization.

Thank you for verifying this information!  

[bobitegirl]

6 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I don't think that Bermuda is a good location to cruise out of.

 

Just saw this message on another group.  Everyone on the plane has been put in quarantine at their own expense for 14 days.

 

"I just read a post on another travel page that a couple who arrived in Bermuda yesterday received a call today that a passenger on their flight tested positive for Covid upon arrival, so all passengers on that flight are being required to quarantine by the Bermuda Health Department. This couple stated that they are fully vaccinated, wore masks the entire travel day & had negative Covid testing upon arrival."

⁶

[bobitegirl]

Just now, bobitegirl said:

⁶

I just came on to report this from another social media post. Wow! Now that seems extreme. So, you could get all the way to Bermuda and, in spite of all your negative tests, still be required to quaruntine. This just makes no sense.

[Cienfuegos]

My wife and I would love to get back to cruising, but it must seems like there are too many moving parts here. If the info about quarantining an entire plane load of people (and flight attendants, gate teams, etc?) is true, that's the final straw.

 

more wishy washy statements from Tor aren't going to cut it. If he wants to retain any credibility, he needs to be definitive. About crew vax. About passenger vax rules. About host country rules and agreements.

[Clay Clayton]

Regarding my initial post, please note the full vaccination of crew was stated to be.a goal 😢

[JeriGail]

2 hours ago, basenji56 said:

I don't think that Bermuda is a good location to cruise out of.

 

Just saw this message on another group.  Everyone on the plane has been put in quarantine at their own expense for 14 days.

 

"I just read a post on another travel page that a couple who arrived in Bermuda yesterday received a call today that a passenger on their flight tested positive for Covid upon arrival, so all passengers on that flight are being required to quarantine by the Bermuda Health Department. This couple stated that they are fully vaccinated, wore masks the entire travel day & had negative Covid testing upon arrival."

Yes, Bermuda DID quarantine everyone on a specific flight, but that occurred from an October 27th, 2020 flight. 

[bluesea777]

1 hour ago, JeriGail said:

Yes, Bermuda DID quarantine everyone on a specific flight, but that occurred from an October 27th, 2020 flight. 

 

Yes that is true. It was a BA flight from London.

 

Thank you.

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by bluesea777

[Captain_Morgan]

7 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Regarding my initial post, please note the full vaccination of crew was stated to be.a goal 😢

If the crew got their first shots in Malta, would they not have to wait a minimum amount of time between first and second doses?  How long was the ship in Malta....long enough to facilitate the full dose?  Sounds like Viking are playing a little fast & loose with their information like other lines claiming pax and crew have to be vaccinated but don't specify if its 'full' or 'half'....in times like these I'd say semantics matter!

[Heidi13]

16 hours ago, bobitegirl said:

I just called and the person I talked to at Viking confirmed that all crew MAY not be vaccinated.  She put me on hold and came back and read a statement basically saying they are trying to get all vaccinated as fast as possible. I wish we could get an answer from someone higher in the organization.

 

Just talked with a crew member on Viking Orion and they have received their first jab and will receive their 2nd jab on board as well.

[bobitegirl]

6 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Just talked with a crew member on Viking Orion and they have received their first jab and will receive their 2nd jab on board as well.

Oh, thats good news.  Wonder why they didn't get both BEFORE guests arrived?  Hope you've had a great trip! I have to decide by tomorrow whether to cancel. More concerned about possibility of mandatory quaruntine if someone seated close to someone on plane turns up positive. Seems fairly unlikely, but possible.

[Heidi13]

11 minutes ago, bobitegirl said:

Oh, thats good news.  Wonder why they didn't get both BEFORE guests arrived?  Hope you've had a great trip! I have to decide by tomorrow whether to cancel. More concerned about possibility of mandatory quaruntine if someone seated close to someone on plane turns up positive. Seems fairly unlikely, but possible.

 

Most crew were unable to receive jabs before signing-on articles, so the ship had to acquire a supply and now they are waiting for the time between jabs.

 

BTW - we aren't onboard Orion, but we are in contact with crew members from the Sun that are now on Orion.