more covid questions relative to go or cancel upcoming rip

[mbtabby]

We are booked on the February 26 Barcelona to Rome Viking Sky Cruise.  We are still on the fence about going or cancelling several questions for this Forum:

 

1.  We are planning to be in Barcelona for 5 days prior to boarding cruise - Viking requires that we have two PCR test prior to boarding:

first one 48 hours before boarding outbound flight and second one 48 hours prior to boarding ship.  Neither Spain nor airline requires the first PCR test - when and how does Viking review this test result?

 

2.  All excursions will have to be with Viking - please provide your pros/cons of Viking provided excursions.

 

3.  I called Viking to ask what happens if one of us tests positive for Covid and was told that we'd be put off the ship at the next port and quarantined at Vikings expense in accordance with that county's policy.  Does Viking actually pay for the quarantine?  

 

4.  Again if quarantined, I'm assuming our Viking provided air would be voided and we'd be responsible for flights home - again any experience.

 

Trying to make an educated go/no-go decision

[LaBubba]

We  have some of the same questions. And, there are no excursions yet for Rome or Venice - 18% of the time on the cruise.

We are wondering if Viking is playing the waiting game; hoping people would cancel so that they don't have to give the 25% premium for future bookings.

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, LaBubba said:

We  have some of the same questions. And, there are no excursions yet for Rome or Venice - 18% of the time on the cruise.

We are wondering if Viking is playing the waiting game; hoping people would cancel so that they don't have to give the 25% premium for future bookings.

 

When Viking cancels, they aren't obligated to offer you anything more than your cash back.

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, mbtabby said:

3.  I called Viking to ask what happens if one of us tests positive for Covid and was told that we'd be put off the ship at the next port and quarantined at Vikings expense in accordance with that county's policy.  Does Viking actually pay for the quarantine?  

 

4.  Again if quarantined, I'm assuming our Viking provided air would be voided and we'd be responsible for flights home - again any experience.

 

I would ask these two questions of Viking. Contact them at tellus@vikingcruises.com, not via the call center. Include your booking number and a phone number where they can contact you. Ask them the two questions you have just asked and ask them to call you (that way you can ask follow up questions with a long e-mail string).

 

Also, there have been a couple of first hand reports here from people who have been quarantined while on a Viking cruise. Try searching this forum to find their comments.

 

Whether one will be disembarked to quarantine is up to the country(ies) you are sailing in; some will allow Viking to disembark you into quarantine and others won't (or can't).  Moreover, such decisions will be made in real time, as the  Covid situation changes from day to day. Whatever is happening to day is almost assured to to be different 2 weeks from now and different again 2 weeks after that.

 

As for having to travel in the Viking bubble, for your itinerary (which I have done and really enjoy) the Viking tours were great for what we were trying to accomplish. We don't mind taking bus tours with a whole bunch of other people and are happy to wander around like sheep. Other people feel differently about large group tours; they prefer exploring on their own or with a private guides.

 

However, right now there is a downside to travel and that is that the tourism industry and in particular the companies that the cruise ships depend on for shore side services (tours, buses, port services etc.) were hard hit by the long shut down with many employees having to find work elsewhere.  So the important question to ask Viking is if there will be enough places on tours for everyone who wants to get off the ship to be able to get off the ship.

 

 

[ssaxsma]

5 hours ago, mbtabby said:

We are booked on the February 26 Barcelona to Rome Viking Sky Cruise.  We are still on the fence about going or cancelling several questions for this Forum:

 

1.  We are planning to be in Barcelona for 5 days prior to boarding cruise - Viking requires that we have two PCR test prior to boarding:

first one 48 hours before boarding outbound flight and second one 48 hours prior to boarding ship.  Neither Spain nor airline requires the first PCR test - when and how does Viking review this test result?

 

2.  All excursions will have to be with Viking - please provide your pros/cons of Viking provided excursions.

 

3.  I called Viking to ask what happens if one of us tests positive for Covid and was told that we'd be put off the ship at the next port and quarantined at Vikings expense in accordance with that county's policy.  Does Viking actually pay for the quarantine?  

 

4.  Again if quarantined, I'm assuming our Viking provided air would be voided and we'd be responsible for flights home - again any experience.

 

Trying to make an educated go/no-go decision

1. We embarked from Istanbul, which has rules similar to your situation: Turkey did not require a Covid test to enter the country. We spoke with Viking and confirmed the test is either one or the other, but not both if you have days on your own with your own flights prior to the cruise. If you were flying directly to the ship, it’s 48 hours before you leave home. If you were spending time on your own in the embarkation port first, it is 48 hours prior to boarding the ship. We scheduled Covid tests with our hotel in Istanbul and they came right to our room and had us our results within five hours by email. Those were the only ones Viking looked at when we boarded even though we had a test done prior to leaving home just as a precaution. By that point we had left home almost a week prior and the results wouldn’t have been useful anyway.

 

2. I think this question is personal for everyone, but I can say that it doesn’t bother me a whole lot. The shore excursions often take up most of the time of the port call, depending on how long you’re there you can sometimes do more than one if you have extra time after one, and depending on where the ship docks, it is not always that easy to explore on your own anyway. Others may have different opinions though.
 

3. Yes, that has been our experience. We are on day seven of land-based quarantine right now and have not been asked to pay a single penny for accommodations, food, or doctors visits. Plus we are told that when we get home, Viking will be contacting us to discuss how much credit we will be getting for the unused portion of our cruise and shore excursions.

 

4. We are working with a case manager who has told us that when we are finally released from quarantine, Viking will arrange flights home at no expense to us. I was very pleasantly surprised by this, as we did not even book air with Viking, but on our own. They told us to cancel our self-arranged flights and get whatever back we could because they would be taking care of it. 

[mbtabby]

ssaxsma - so very sorry you ended up in quarantine.  Hope you're feeling better - sounds like Viking provided excellent care for you.

[puppymama1]

ssaxsma - hope you are feeling better soon.... 

Just curious, did you purchase the insurance through Viking and is that why they are paying for all your quarantine expenses?  I saw posts on a different thread where people were put in hostels and in accommodations in less desirable parts of town, and were expected to pay their own bills... Just wondering why they were treated that way and you were treated so well... I am hoping our May Danube cruise and our October Mediterranean cruise both happen and we don't end up having to quarantine, but just wonder if there is anything we can do to ensure we would be treated the same way you were if we do?  We do have our insurance booked through Viking... hopefully that is the reason!

[Mich3554]

3 hours ago, puppymama1 said:

ssaxsma - hope you are feeling better soon.... 

Just curious, did you purchase the insurance through Viking and is that why they are paying for all your quarantine expenses?  I saw posts on a different thread where people were put in hostels and in accommodations in less desirable parts of town, and were expected to pay their own bills... Just wondering why they were treated that way and you were treated so well... I am hoping our May Danube cruise and our October Mediterranean cruise both happen and we don't end up having to quarantine, but just wonder if there is anything we can do to ensure we would be treated the same way you were if we do?  We do have our insurance booked through Viking... hopefully that is the reason!

The countries you are in determine your quarantine hotels.  We found this out this past summer when we were testing for covid to leave Belize back to the US.  We mentioned that staying a week in quarantine with our sea view room on the beach, large balcony and very decent room would be an ok quarantine.  Then we got informed that quarantine facilities were in Belize City, and not near as nice.  Yeah….not interested.  
So Viking had little choice in the matter, but I do not believe that those quarantined paid.  When we were on our cruise last month, we were told Viking would pay.  I even have a letter I was given by Viking stating this…….we needed it for Chile.  

[TinaLee]

We are doing 8 days in Rome prior to our cruise Rome to BCN. We get off as you board. My instructions from Viking via chat and email were that I was to follow Italy’s guidelines for entry (so PCR 72 hours before we land in Italy or rapid antigen 24 hours before we land currently). And then we have to get a PCR test in Rome 48 hours before we board (first contact with Viking). We are not required to test 48 hours before we leave the US, just follow Italy’s entry rules. 
 

We have actually been to all of these ports on prior trips to Europe, so we weren’t too bothered by the bubble. I was looking forward to getting off on our own and visiting a few things we had enjoyed in the past, but we live firmly in the ‘next time’ mindset. Every time I have said “I’ll never be here again” we have ended up back in that location a few years late either on purpose or by circumstance. 
 

I’m not sure on the quarantine issue, as you hear stories both ways - quarantined on the ship or put off and quarantined on land. We have Covid coverage if push comes to shove, so we’ll plan to roll with it. My quarantine choices for this cruise would be Italy, Monaco, France, or Spain. While it wouldn’t be fun, so long as we weren’t seriously ill we’d just make do.

 

The fact that we will have a whole week in Rome (our favorite city) on our own before we have to test, join the ship, etc. with no bubble is what we’re really going for. We added the cruise because we’ve always wanted to try Viking Ocean 🙂 

[CCWineLover]

6 hours ago, TinaLee said:

We are doing 8 days in Rome prior to our cruise Rome to BCN. We get off as you board. My instructions from Viking via chat and email were that I was to follow Italy’s guidelines for entry (so PCR 72 hours before we land in Italy or rapid antigen 24 hours before we land currently).

 

 

The fact that we will have a whole week in Rome (our favorite city) on our own before we have to test, join the ship, etc. with no bubble is what we’re really going for. We added the cruise because we’ve always wanted to try Viking Ocean 🙂 

What a great attitude you have!   We were just in Rome 5 days ahead of our Rome to Barcelona cruise over Thanksgiving.  We so thoroughly enjoyed Rome!  Walked everywhere, ate, drank, saw the sights.  Very few tourists and the people were for the most part very good about masking.  We stayed near the Coliseum in an apartment (VRBO) that was lovely.  I was worried about how/where to get a PCR test (in Italy they call it "Molecular" test).  There were not a lot of locations.  Fortunately our landlord helped us out and found one north of the Borghesi Gardens at the north end.  We took a taxi there for 10 euros, got the test, took the taxi back for 10 euros and had the results in 4 hours.  The place was called AltaMedica and they spoke English as well! 

http://www.altamedica.it/

Just in case you are interested!

We also enjoyed the Nice/Eze/Monaco excursion.  The Aix-en-Provence was so-so but the Montpelier Chateau and wine-tasting was exceptional!  As was the included walking tour of Sete, France.  The included walking tour of Barcelona was also great!   Both were helped by excellent guides.

Enjoy your trip!

[TinaLee]

2 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

What a great attitude you have!   We were just in Rome 5 days ahead of our Rome to Barcelona cruise over Thanksgiving.  We so thoroughly enjoyed Rome!  Walked everywhere, ate, drank, saw the sights.  Very few tourists and the people were for the most part very good about masking.  We stayed near the Coliseum in an apartment (VRBO) that was lovely.  I was worried about how/where to get a PCR test (in Italy they call it "Molecular" test).  There were not a lot of locations.  Fortunately our landlord helped us out and found one north of the Borghesi Gardens at the north end.  We took a taxi there for 10 euros, got the test, took the taxi back for 10 euros and had the results in 4 hours.  The place was called AltaMedica and they spoke English as well! 

http://www.altamedica.it/

Just in case you are interested!

We also enjoyed the Nice/Eze/Monaco excursion.  The Aix-en-Provence was so-so but the Montpelier Chateau and wine-tasting was exceptional!  As was the included walking tour of Sete, France.  The included walking tour of Barcelona was also great!   Both were helped by excellent guides.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks so much for the testing info. We are staying near the Pantheon and Synlab is just around the corner from us. They are saying 24 hour results, but you’re the second person to recommend altamedica to me. 🙂 I think they may be part of Artemisia labs. Did you pay 140 Euro for the 4 hour results? 
 

Thanks for the excursion tips! We’re looking forward to seeing Rome with smaller crowds - winter is the only season we’ve not seen there! 

[cpastu]

We have similar concerns of being removed from the ship and placed in a less than a desirable facility in an underdeveloped country. Does anyone know, recently, if Viking has had Covid cases onboard their ocean ships? If so, how have they been handled.

 

 

[CCWineLover]

On 1/16/2022 at 4:59 PM, TinaLee said:

Thanks so much for the testing info. We are staying near the Pantheon and Synlab is just around the corner from us. They are saying 24 hour results, but you’re the second person to recommend altamedica to me. 🙂 I think they may be part of Artemisia labs. Did you pay 140 Euro for the 4 hour results? 
 

Thanks for the excursion tips! We’re looking forward to seeing Rome with smaller crowds - winter is the only season we’ve not seen there! 

We stayed at a place near the Coliseum.  Really enjoyed the Pantheon !  There is an excellent gelato place on the NE corner of the large square.  Also, on weekends you need to have an on-line registration to see the Pantheon.  Google how to get it. 

We paid 60 Euros pp for the test results.