Welcome Back Cruises 2021 - Malta & Adriatic Cruises and General Discussion

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, Harrietq said:

Here’s the specific part of the email I received from the US Embassy on 9 July:

Message to U.S. Citizens:  U.S. Embassy in Malta (July 9, 2021)

 

Location: Malta 

 

Event: Announcement of new restrictions from the Maltese government in response to rising numbers of COVID cases

 

Travel Information:

 

On July 9, the Minister for Health publicly announced Malta will require all travelers to present Maltese recognized proof of COVID-19 vaccination beginning July 14.  The Government of Malta currently only recognizes the Maltese vaccine certificates, UK-issued NHS COVID passes, and the EU COVID Pass.  The Government of Malta does not currently recognize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination card.  Beginning July 14, U.S. citizens will not be permitted to enter Malta unless they have one of the before-mentioned Maltese recognized COVID-19 vaccination certificates, regardless of their point of origin. 

 

The Maltese Ministry of Health website has not yet been updated to reflect these new restrictions.  The Embassy is closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates or clarifications as they become available.

Yeah but what has Viking said to cruisers? Other posts say Viking reps told them Viking has a “deal” with the Maltese government. Don’t know what it is, but have yet to hear anything official from Viking. There’s a cruise out of Malta tomorrow July 11 and another one July 14. Is Malta going to turn back Americans arriving July 14? I really don’t think so, but we’ll see!

[TERRIER1]

14 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

Yeah but what has Viking said to cruisers? Other posts say Viking reps told them Viking has a “deal” with the Maltese government. Don’t know what it is, but have yet to hear anything official from Viking. There’s a cruise out of Malta tomorrow July 11 and another one July 14. Is Malta going to turn back Americans arriving July 14? I really don’t think so, but we’ll see!

Don't these cruises return to Malta as well? Are they not going to let them back?

[Jchivers]

Well, mediawise (the people posting videos) will be in the air tomorrow -- i imagine they'll let us know.

[LindaS272]

1 minute ago, TERRIER1 said:

Don't these cruises return to Malta as well? Are they not going to let them back?

Wondered that myself! Will be interesting!

[LindaS272]

Just now, Jchivers said:

Well, mediawise (the people posting videos) will be in the air tomorrow -- i imagine they'll let us know.

They are arriving before the change on July 14.

[travelguy19]

20 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

Yeah but what has Viking said to cruisers? Other posts say Viking reps told them Viking has a “deal” with the Maltese government. Don’t know what it is, but have yet to hear anything official from Viking. There’s a cruise out of Malta tomorrow July 11 and another one July 14. Is Malta going to turn back Americans arriving July 14? I really don’t think so, but we’ll see!

Yes, it will be interesting! Let’s see if they let people get on the plane July 13th. Those people are currently scrambling to get their PCR tests under the current/old rules.

[gma1]

8 hours ago, teabear said:

Just had a call from Viking Guest services - yes, its Saturday but they are calling all UK guests to double check the batch numbers if they were given AZ.  So very very impressed with the dedication to making sure their guests were compliant in all their paperwork and all the changes that have been happening - fingers and toes crossed that I have all the bits in place and good to go - never can I remember being so nervous about travelling in my entire life 

I sure can relate to that!! This has been stressful! That extra checking makes me very confident that Viking is on top of everything...as always!!! I think we have now found a lab that will give us a 12 hour turnaround on the CTR test 72 hour requirement. It will cost us up front but at least our own insurance says they will reimburse us. Thanks for sharing everyone!!!!

[gma1]

2 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

They are arriving before the change on July 14.

We will all be very interested in seeing what happens to them!! So much info & stress! Guess we all will just have to hear the latest when Viking shares it with us. Lots of politics

[Jchivers]

I  imagine that as we speak, someone from Viking is on the phone screaming at somebody in the Maltese  government. 

[DaveSJ711]

6 minutes ago, Jchivers said:

I  imagine that as we speak, someone from Viking is on the phone screaming at somebody in the Maltese  government. 

That "someone from Viking" may be the Chairman. I say that only semi-facetiously.

[cboyle]

Just saw this message on MVJ:

 

On July 9 the Maltese government announced that beginning July 14 only fully vaccinated visitors with a COVID-19 vaccination certificate can enter Malta. 

Viking is working closely with the Maltese Health Authorities to ensure all our guests are allowed to arrive in Malta and embark their ship. 

All of Viking’s Welcome Back voyages are available exclusively for vaccinated guests, with verification of vaccination status provided through a partnership with VeriFLY. A vaccination requirement for all guests complements the Viking Health & Safety Program, which was developed in coordination with an international team of scientific and medical advisors and includes frequent non-invasive saliva PCR testing for all guests and crew.

The Viking Health & Safety Program is one of the most well-researched and comprehensive COVID-19 prevention and mitigation plans in the travel industry; therefore, we are confident that our voyages from Malta will operate as planned.

[cboyle]

It is also posted here:

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

[CharTrav]

The issue that Malta is addressing is that after getting to the point of zero new infections last month, new infections are suddenly on the rise - doubling every day during the past week. In response they have decided to toss everybody from their "amber corridor" list into the "red" list. "Red list" countries do not have the option to provide proof of a negative PCR test in lieu of proof of vaccination. And since the cdc card is not accepted as proof of vaccination, that means vaccinated folks from the US cannot go to Malta. 

 

IMHO - I fully respect Malta's decision. They need to protect their citizens and are taking appropriate measures to do so. It is unfortunate they won't accept our CDC cards. Resolving that issue is not something Viking can fix. Sadly.  

 

FYI - just read the current sailing update from Viking. Frankly, while I'm hopeful that Viking can convince Malta to accept US pax based on their cdc certificate complemented by VeriFly I'm not confident they can. Especially given their previous inability to do so for US pax who live in states on Malta's "red list" prior to July 9. 

Edited July 11, 2021 by CharTrav

[CharTrav]

A little more background on Malta's rationale (tried to add this to my previous post but too late):

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/malta-bans-all-visitors-who-arent-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-2021-07-09/

[CharTrav]

On 7/7/2021 at 3:41 PM, eduguy said:

Both the USA & Britain are on the above list.  My interpretation is that they cannot pass through transit airports outside the Amber zone (red & dark red): Viking told us we DO NOT have to change our connection at LHR.

Not all of the US - just specific states. Most US states were on the amber corridor list; about a dozen were on the red list. And if they were willing to accept our CDC cards, it wouldn't matter which list a state was in. 

[DaveSJ711]

FWIW, a commenter on the site that can't be named wrote that he spoke to a Viking rep today about the Malta announcement. The rep said Viking is "working closely" with the Maltese authorities to permit cruising to occur, blah blah blah -- typical corporate-speak. But then the rep said Viking won't know for a week or two whether these efforts will bear fruit. 

 

I can't say I'm encouraged here, either by Malta's announcement or the projected timing of the denouement. How does all of this impact the people who are already in country, on their way now, and/or scheduled to sail this week? What about the following sailing? What about people who have arranged flights and travel for August and September? Should they wait in limbo while Viking and Malta hash out yet another deal that could go sideways like the others?

 

The message seems to be, "sit tight, cool your jets, and let Mother Viking deal with the problem." All nice in theory, but not at all optimal in reality. It's time to look at a Plan B in place of a Malta cruise.

[LindaS272]

35 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

The issue that Malta is addressing is that after getting to the point of zero new infections last month, new infections are suddenly on the rise - doubling every day during the past week. In response they have decided to toss everybody from their "amber corridor" list into the "red" list. "Red list" countries do not have the option to provide proof of a negative PCR test in lieu of proof of vaccination. And since the cdc card is not accepted as proof of vaccination, that means vaccinated folks from the US cannot go to Malta. 

 

IMHO - I fully respect Malta's decision. They need to protect their citizens and are taking appropriate measures to do so. It is unfortunate they won't accept our CDC cards. Resolving that issue is not something Viking can fix. Sadly.  

 

FYI - just read the current sailing update from Viking. Frankly, while I'm hopeful that Viking can convince Malta to accept US pax based on their cdc certificate complemented by VeriFly I'm not confident they can. Especially given their previous inability to do so for US pax who live in states on Malta's "red list" prior to July 9. 

I don’t respect Malta’s decision because it’s non-sensical. If Iceland and Greece can accept our CDC cards, (and I’ve heard Italy and Spain), then Malta can as well. Why are they refusing to do so?

[CharTrav]

6 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

I don’t respect Malta’s decision because it’s non-sensical. If Iceland and Greece can accept our CDC cards, (and I’ve heard Italy and Spain), then Malta can as well. Why are they refusing to do so?

I don't know. I agree; it does seem a bit odd and frustrating and annoying. They haven't been open about the criteria for being designated amber vice red. Why is Indiana a red list state and Texas amber?   But what can we do except go with it and hope for the best?

[Azulann]

28 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

A little more background on Malta's rationale (tried to add this to my previous post but too late):

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/malta-bans-all-visitors-who-arent-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-2021-07-09/

Thanks you for the link to the Reuter article. It  explains the state of COVID infections currently in Malta.

Each country makes it own  decisions based on the current infection rate as to tourist crossing their borders. 

This is the new world of travel in the era of COVID.-19 for the rest of the year at least if not  into 2022.

Viking Cruise line is doing all they can under the circumstances.

Good luck. 

Edited July 11, 2021 by Azulann

[mediawise]

8 hours ago, Jchivers said:

Well, mediawise (the people posting videos) will be in the air tomorrow -- i imagine they'll let us know.

Yup, we just got our test results back and we're good to go.  We head to the airport tomorrow(Sunday) afternoon landing on July 12 so we should have no trouble entering Malta. If this July 14th band holds up, we'll be among the half dozen passengers on this cruise.  I notice that the Venus is stationary off shore of Malta at this time,

 so the ship will be there on our boarding day.

[CharTrav]

7 minutes ago, Azulann said:

Viking Cruise line is doing all they can under the circumstances.

Fully agree. I sympathize with them. 

I also freely admit that we are not part of the Welcome Back cruise trailblazers. We're waiting til next year. Have 4 Viking trips queued up - 2 next year and 2 in 2023. Three were booked with future cruise vouchers from cancellations last year and this Summer. I am soooo ready to board a Viking ship but not til next year. 

 

Btw - I finally finished posting the pictures from our Viking Homelands trip in July 2016 this week. Use the email link provided in my signature block if you want me to send you the link to my photo site. I remember you from the meet & mingle. 😊

[Azulann]

10 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

Fully agree. I sympathize with them. 

I also freely admit that we are not part of the Welcome Back cruise trailblazers. We're waiting til next year. Have 4 Viking trips queued up - 2 next year and 2 in 2023. Three were booked with future cruise vouchers from cancellations last year and this Summer. I am soooo ready to board a Viking ship but not til next year. 

 

Btw - I finally finished posting the pictures from our Viking Homelands trip in July 2016 this week. Use the email link provided in my signature block if you want me to send you the link to my photo site. I remember you from the meet & mingle. 😊

I ,on the other hand,  am patiently waiting for the Bermuda Authorization approval to be sent to me. I am  going  on the July 13 sailing on the Orion. I have not been on a cruise wince 2018 on the Viking Sea Transatlanltic. I am ready to  do this new  flexible way of travel to cruise again.  

I appreciate all you do on this Viking forum !.

Cheers.

 

Patti

[LindaS272]

28 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

I don't know. I agree; it does seem a bit odd and frustrating and annoying. They haven't been open about the criteria for being designated amber vice red. Why is Indiana a red list state and Texas amber?   But what can we do except go with it and hope for the best?

Well, I note you have no investment in these cruises so not sure why you’re weighing in. Some of us that are invested in the Welcome Back cruises, for time, money and grief, have vastly different opinions of how governments (and Viking) are bungling requirements and affecting travelers. It’s very bureaucratic and a large part of it is emphatically not in the interests of Covid safety. As well as not being transparent—both Viking and Malta, in this case.

[Jchivers]

The silly part of the Malta kerfuffle is that the dispute isn’t over vaccinations; it’s over forms of documentation. What difference does it make what certificate we carry?

[CharTrav]

15 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

Well, I note you have no investment in these cruises so not sure why you’re weighing in.

Perhaps not but I have been following this and thought I could contribute what I've learned today. I shall now go into the lurk mode. 😊