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

[Tom.in.nc]

2 minutes ago, Australia08 said:

I was told yesterday that you cannot do Air+ or even book your own flights. I was looking at Aug 13 (now Greece itinerary). That was actually a deal breaker for me because we wanted to book our own air. 

Hmm,

I booked myself and bought Viking’s airport transfers to avoid any hassle with getting to the ship.  No questions or comments from Viking about it.

July 24-Aug 3

Tom

[Australia08]

2 minutes ago, Tom.in.nc said:

Hmm,

I booked myself and bought Viking’s airport transfers to avoid any hassle with getting to the ship.  No questions or comments from Viking about it.

July 24-Aug 3

Tom

I should try another agent. We found with the Iceland cruises that the Viking agents all had different stories. However I wonder if the special nonstop United flight Newark to Valleta is the cause of this change in one’s ability to book flights independently. Perhaps they’ve promised United they’ll fill the planes. 

[Australia08]

24 minutes ago, Tom.in.nc said:

Hmm,

I booked myself and bought Viking’s airport transfers to avoid any hassle with getting to the ship.  No questions or comments from Viking about it.

July 24-Aug 3

Tom

I just chatted with another agent. Just got a different answer. He said I can book my own air. Now - what to believe????

[DaveSJ711]

30 minutes ago, Australia08 said:

I just chatted with another agent. Just got a different answer. He said I can book my own air. Now - what to believe????

“You pays your money and you takes your chances.”

[LindaS272]

48 minutes ago, Australia08 said:

I just chatted with another agent. Just got a different answer. He said I can book my own air. Now - what to believe????

You might want to read back over this entire thread. There have been issues with various Viking agents saying you can’t book your own air since at least a month ago. A couple people canceled because of this. We were told exactly the opposite after one confusing interaction with an agent who said we could be denied boarding.

 

The things to pay attention to are the various requirements of the Maltese government. Restrictions are changing every couple of weeks. Right now, Malta is not recognizing U.S. vaccinations, but there is talk that when the E.U. puts out their digital passport next week, Malta will recognize it for EU vaccinations, and the EU is apparently working hard to let US visitors use a version of it too.

 

We are booked for the Sept. 12 cruise and are just cooling our heels in regards to airfare, waiting to see how conditions change. We likely won’t go if we have to do a PCR test within three days of travel because we are planning on doing a layover in another country, and coming into Malta about five days early. We’ll see.

[Australia08]

5 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

You might want to read back over this entire thread. There have been issues with various Viking agents saying you can’t book your own air since at least a month ago. A couple people canceled because of this. We were told exactly the opposite after one confusing interaction with an agent who said we could be denied boarding.

 

The things to pay attention to are the various requirements of the Maltese government. Restrictions are changing every couple of weeks. Right now, Malta is not recognizing U.S. vaccinations, but there is talk that when the E.U. puts out their digital passport next week, Malta will recognize it for EU vaccinations, and the EU is apparently working hard to let US visitors use a version of it too.

 

We are booked for the Sept. 12 cruise and are just cooling our heels in regards to airfare, waiting to see how conditions change. We likely won’t go if we have to do a PCR test within three days of travel because we are planning on doing a layover in another country, and coming into Malta about five days early. We’ll see.

That’s what I’m going to do. I’ll just bide my time and see what Malta does. I don’t want to hassle with the PCR test either. I don’t need that stress. 

[sarch99]

35 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

The things to pay attention to are the various requirements of the Maltese government. Restrictions are changing every couple of weeks. Right now, Malta is not recognizing U.S. vaccinations, but there is talk that when the E.U. puts out their digital passport next week, Malta will recognize it for EU vaccinations, and the EU is apparently working hard to let US visitors use a version of it too.

Viking sent us our Final E-Documents this morning, even though we're from one of the unwelcome US states.  Hoping we're allowed to somehow get the EU digital passport and have it accepted by Malta quickly, as we're due to leave the US on 7/10.  The fact that we got the documents doesn't give me much hope, because I'm pretty sure that documents department at Viking is clueless about entry requirements for each country.  Oh, well.   We shall see.  Not one of us has started packing yet.  Ha Ha.

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, sarch99 said:

Viking sent us our Final E-Documents this morning, even though we're from one of the unwelcome US states.  Hoping we're allowed to somehow get the EU digital passport and have it accepted by Malta quickly, as we're due to leave the US on 7/10.  The fact that we got the documents doesn't give me much hope, because I'm pretty sure that documents department at Viking is clueless about entry requirements for each country.  Oh, well.   We shall see.  Not one of us has started packing yet.  Ha Ha.

I think you can send a query to Malta via the visitmalta.com website. It’s so weird that they are not recognizing U.S. vaccinations when Iceland has not had a problem with it.

[Tom.in.nc]

1 hour ago, sarch99 said:

Hoping we're allowed to somehow get the EU digital passport and have it accepted by Malta quickly, as we're due to leave the US on 7/10

We fly over 7/23 so please keep us informed on how it goes.

Thanks 🙏🏼 for being a guinea pig.

 

Tom

[postit1111]

6 hours ago, CLBSC said:

We are booked on the 8/23 Malta Adriatic cruise and anxiously awaiting info from Viking Air. Restaurant reservations booked, spa reservations booked, and excursions booked. Fingers crossed this cruise is a go...does anyone know if you get terrible times from Viking Air, are you able to change the deportation airport? We are an hour from Greenville, SC, our closest airport, but could easily drive the 2 1/2 hours to Atlanta or Charlotte.

We are also booked on the 8/23 cruise.  After reading the horror stories regarding the flights I contacted Viking Air (we have plus).  After waiting 1 hour in the que the Viking agent was able to take care of us, well sort of.  We paid for premium economy - not going to happen!  Long story/short after a total of 4 hours she was able to book us (3 couples) on a United flight from LAX to Newark to connect with the Lufthansa charter (different terminals) scheduled to arrive at 11:15 am.    The return flight is the kicker - 5 hour layover in Newark, with a jet blue flight arriving to LAX at 1AM.

 

We are just rolling with it and intend to have a amazing trip.

[MRGACRUZR]

4 hours ago, Tom.in.nc said:

There are a couple of BA flights from Heathrow and Viking uses BA.  

There is a 7:15 flight from MLA  to LHR that I’m on early August.

My invoice from Viking says:

Message for Embarkation/Disembarkation
Due to the cruise schedule for this itinerary there are limitations on flight times. If you are arranging your own flights, please be aware of the restrictions below and ensure the criteria is met.
Departure:
Departure flights out of Malta, Malta (MLA) must depart no earlier than 7:00 AM on the day of August 3, 2021.

Tom

At the time we booked, the only flights out of Malta, to connect, were 6:30AM. Viking said all departure flights had to be after 9AM. There are apparently more flights, now, and Viking has changed their departure time rule. Before we were working with air plus we had researched all the possibilities. We found a business class flight solution on Delta (partners) but, they did not have a contract with Delta and all connections left at 6:30 AM. We cancelled but still watching.

[Tom.in.nc]

We connecting at LHR and as long as we (per gov.uk) stay airside (follow the “connections” signs) we are good to transfer.

The only remaining question is whether we need the do a COVID test and/or submit a passenger locator form.  As far as I can tell the answers are yes and yes.

 

Anyone else transiting at Heathrow?  Viking tickets or your own?

 

Tom

[sarch99]

1 hour ago, LindaS272 said:

I think you can send a query to Malta via the visitmalta.com website. It’s so weird that they are not recognizing U.S. vaccinations when Iceland has not had a problem with it.

I’ve been in discussions with the health minister’s office in Malta. Nothing fruitful has come from those discussions yet. We’re ever hopeful, though. 

[MikeyB]

6 hours ago, Australia08 said:

I just chatted with another agent. Just got a different answer. He said I can book my own air. Now - what to believe????

Of course you can book your own air.  I did.  Told the agent when I booked the cruise.  She asked if I wanted transfers.  Viking's transfers are $49 if the distance is 50 miles or 5 miles.  The distance in Malta from air terminal to pier is closer to 5 miles.  I jokingly said I would walk.

[mediawise]

We are about to embark on the July 14th R/T Malta (first of many) Cruise on the Viking Venus.  Due to the current travel situation, this is not your usual cruise experience.  We have many questions yet to be answered in the few days before departure.  This video and the ones to follow will help our fellow passengers as we solve the problems that will crop us during this cruise.  We'll share so that your cruise will be a better experience.  We have no affliation with Viking, a travel agency, or the travel industry.  This is simply a passenger to passenger exchange.  Please leave comments and suggestions.

Edited June 28, 2021 by mediawise

[Tom.in.nc]

1 hour ago, mediawise said:

Please leave comments and suggestions.

We (Sylvia and I) really appreciate you blazing the trails for us and we look forward to you upcoming videos.

FYI: From what I have heard, Viking will be using the Verifly application for verification of your jabs.  We are on the same cruise on the 24th and have successfully been "approved" by Verifly.

 

Thanks again,

Tom

[MRGACRUZR]

36 minutes ago, Tom.in.nc said:

We (Sylvia and I) really appreciate you blazing the trails for us and we look forward to you upcoming videos.

FYI: From what I have heard, Viking will be using the Verifly application for verification of your jabs.  We are on the same cruise on the 24th and have successfully been "approved" by Verifly.

 

Thanks again,

Tom

Viking did use Verifly on our 6/15 Bermuda cruise.

[LindaS272]

2 hours ago, mediawise said:

We are about to embark on the July 14th R/T Malta (first of many) Cruise on the Viking Venus.  Due to the current travel situation, this is not your usual cruise experience.  We have many questions yet to be answered in the few days before departure.  This video and the ones to follow will help our fellow passengers as we solve the problems that will crop us during this cruise.  We'll share so that your cruise will be a better experience.  We have no affliation with Viking, a travel agency, or the travel industry.  This is simply a passenger to passenger exchange.  Please leave comments and suggestions.

Wow! Thank you Ken and Martha! There has been little information so far on CC for the Malta/Adriatic itinerary. Really appreciate what you are attempting to do here.

 

We are Linda and Dave from Bainbridge Island, WA, and we are booked for this itinerary on Sept. 12. We originally were repurposing our air tickets on Delta from another trip we had planned for Sept., at least to get us from Seattle to LHR. Then Delta changed our flight times and rerouted our direct flight to LHR through Atlanta. So we won’t be using those miles any longer but may look at Lufthansa to Munich as well. We shall see.

 

We’ll be very interested to see how your PCR testing goes, and if you have any issues arriving a few days before the cruise—that has been our plan as well.

 

 

[INTravels]

3 hours ago, mediawise said:

We are about to embark on the July 14th R/T Malta (first of many) Cruise on the Viking Venus.  Due to the current travel situation, this is not your usual cruise experience.  We have many questions yet to be answered in the few days before departure.  This video and the ones to follow will help our fellow passengers as we solve the problems that will crop us during this cruise.  We'll share so that your cruise will be a better experience.  We have no affliation with Viking, a travel agency, or the travel industry.  This is simply a passenger to passenger exchange.  Please leave comments and suggestions.

Video is a great idea and it is much appreciated.  Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.  We live in Nevada and Malta still has not approved our state for travel. I asked Viking what the criteria was for Malta and why certain states were not allowed.  I was told by a Viking Cust. Rep that the reason given was Epidemiological ! Looked it up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiological_transition Not sure I understand exactly how that applies here or how they came by that but hoping our Aug 3 trip is still on.  Watching closely

[NC1989]

5 hours ago, mediawise said:

We are about to embark on the July 14th R/T Malta (first of many) Cruise on the Viking Venus.  Due to the current travel situation, this is not your usual cruise experience.  We have many questions yet to be answered in the few days before departure.  This video and the ones to follow will help our fellow passengers as we solve the problems that will crop us during this cruise.  We'll share so that your cruise will be a better experience.  We have no affliation with Viking, a travel agency, or the travel industry.  This is simply a passenger to passenger exchange.  Please leave comments and suggestions.

Hi Martha and Ken,  We are Chris and Anita from Raleigh. Thank you very much for this informative and useful video. We are taking the same cruise on September 12, leaving on the charter flight from Newark to Malta. The ship Venus looks awesome. Thank you for the suggestion to look for videos of this new ship. Please let us know how everything goes. Looking forward seeing more of your videos! 

[mediawise]

3 hours ago, MRGACRUZR said:

Viking did use Verifly on our 6/15 Bermuda cruise.

This is good info - but after reading the VeriFly info - I cannot see how Viking used this app.  It seems to only apply to airlines and needs specific info that is not relevant to cruising.  Do yoy have additional details to share?

 

[MRGACRUZR]

8 minutes ago, mediawise said:

This is good info - but after reading the VeriFly info - I cannot see how Viking used this app.  It seems to only apply to airlines and needs specific info that is not relevant to cruising.  Do yoy have additional details to share?

 

.yes, you will recv an email from Viking with very specific instructions.  Since I was on the first Bermuda cruise, I can't give you a time frame of how far before you cruise that you'll get the email. Nothing on the first cruise set a standard for time frames. Iv posted a copy of the letter on the Bermuda thread. If you try to use Verifly before Viking sends the email, it won't work. I'll see if I can find a copy of the email.

[MRGACRUZR]

14 minutes ago, mediawise said:

This is good info - but after reading the VeriFly info - I cannot see how Viking used this app.  It seems to only apply to airlines and needs specific info that is not relevant to cruising.  Do yoy have additional details to share?

 

Dear Viking Guest,

Thank you for booking your upcoming journey with Viking. As we prepare to welcome you on board, we want to advise you of a new component to the Viking Health & Safety Program.

As you know, all guests must be vaccinated prior to boarding our ships. As such, we will need to verify your COVID-19 vaccination status. To expedite the embarkation process, Viking has partnered with Daon Inc., an independent third-party vendor, to digitally pre-verify your vaccination status through their VeriFLY app.

Please note, some airlines are also using the VeriFLY app. The verification process is separate for each travel carrier. If you have completed the VeriFLY process for your airline, you will need to create a VeriFLY pass for Viking as well.

At least seven days prior to your departure, please follow the steps below to complete your vaccination verification through VeriFLY for your Viking voyage.

Step 1	Install the Free VeriFLY App http://docs.vikingcruises.com/envogram/veriFly-logo.jpg If you already have the VeriFLY app and an account, skip to Step 5. Direct links for Apple iOS and Android app stores are below.
Step 2	Create Your VeriFLY Account Once you have downloaded the app, tap "Get Started." Select "I Agree" to accept the VeriFLY Terms & Conditions. Enter your first and last name as they appear on your passport and input your email address.
Step 3	Finalize Your Account Creation Confirm your email address is correct by clicking "Confirm Email." You will be prompted to take a passport-style profile photo. Once submitted, a message will be sent to your confirmed email address verifying that your account has been created. From your email, select “Validate Your Account.” In the VeriFLY app you will see “Onboarding Complete.” (Please check your spam folder if you do not see the email in your inbox.)
Step 4	Create a Viking Pass In the VeriFLY app, go to "My Passes." Select "Browse" in the bottom, right corner and, on the next screen, type "Viking" to search for the pass. Select "A Trip with Viking" and tap on "Add Pass" in the top right corner of the screen. The pass should now be available in "My Passes."
Step 5	Add Your Trip In "My Passes", select the Viking pass and choose "Add Trip" to enter your trip details. Review and agree to the Health Privacy Policy, Health Data Consent and Transfer Consent by tapping each toggle button. Tap “Continue” to proceed. (You will need to agree to all three sections to ensure Viking receives your status and allow VeriFLY to validate your vaccination record.) Next, enter your trip details and personal information. Note: Your booking number and embarkation date are at the top of this message.
Step 6	Input Vaccination Details Tap "Manage Checklist" and select "Step 1: COVID-19 Vaccination Review" to submit your vaccination documentation. Complete the checklist by confirming your vaccination and entering your vaccination details (vaccine type, date of final vaccination). To submit your vaccination card or medical record with proof of vaccine, you can upload your documentation as a PDF, scan, or take a photo of your card in the app.
Step 7	Submit Details Upon successful submission of your COVID-19 Vaccination Review, you will see a "Success!" screen. To see your verification status, select "Back," and press the three dots next to COVID-19 Vaccination Review. Your status will show "Pending." There is nothing further to complete at this time. You will receive confirmation, within the app and via email from VeriFLY (within 24 hours), that your vaccination verification is complete.
Step 8	Add a Travel Companion If applicable, add a travel companion by returning to "My Passes." Select the Viking pass and go to "Manage Trip." Select "Add Companion." In addition to uploading their vaccination card or proof of vaccine, you will be asked to add their photo. You will need to agree that you are authorized to share your companion's personal information. If preferred, your travel companion can set up their own VeriFLY account.
Step 9	Verification Approval Once VeriFLY has verified your vaccination status, you will receive a notification with your final VeriFLY pass. (Please allow 24 hours.) If VeriFLY encounters any issues verifying your vaccination record, VeriFLY will contact you directly. VeriFLY will provide Viking with confirmation of your vaccination approval, which will be transferred to your booking record so you can quickly embark on the day of your cruise.

VeriFLY will provide Viking with confirmation of your vaccination status, which will be transferred to your booking record so you can quickly embark on the day of your cruise. While your VeriFLY pass will expedite your Viking embarkation, you may need to present proof of vaccination at other points during your trip. Please ensure you carry your original vaccination documentation while traveling.

If you have any questions regarding the VeriFLY process, please contact VeriFLY Customer Support at (833) 586-1605 or support@myverifly.com. Many questions may be answered at VeriFLY’s online Help Center, viewable here or accessible from within the app. Additional tips have been included below.

Please note, in addition to verifying your vaccination status through VeriFLY as outlined above, ten days prior to your embarkation you will be asked to complete a pre-boarding health survey. You will be notified by a separate email when the health survey becomes available and directed to myvikingjourney.com for completion.

We thank you for your cooperation and wish you a wonderful journey.

Sincerely,

Viking

[Tom.in.nc]

11 hours ago, MRGACRUZR said:

If you try to use Verifly before Viking sends the email, it won't work. I'll see if I can find a copy of the email.

I submitted it for the 7/24 cruise and the only limitation was that you must be within 30 days of embarking.

As my daughter would say, it was “easy peasy”,

 

Tom

[sarch99]

Updated US Amber List as of this morning:    United States of America but only limited to the following states: Alaska, Arizona (until 29 June 2021), California, Colorado (until 29 June 2021), Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho (from 30 June 2021), Illinois, Indiana (until 29 June 2021), Iowa, Kentucky (from 30 June 2021), Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin