PCR test ‘72 hours from first outbound flight’ include connecting flights?

[austinetc]

11 minutes ago, uktog said:

This is my first time sailing with Viking, many cruisers I have met on Azamara have told me how wonderful it is, I wanted to believe them and experience it myself.  Even setting aside their more excessive testing regimes I have tried to be positive but this shambles leaves me fed up to the back teeth.

 

I think that most past cruisers with VIking will agree that 1) the ships and crew are incredibly skilled, caring people and 2) their corporate offices are somewhat lacking. Clearly, Viking sinks their profits into the cruise part of the trip and less into the cruise preparation aspect. 

 

At the moment my frustration is the same as yours. Viking pushes the guidance that PCR testing must be done 48 hours before arrival into Italy, but their main page about testing says 72 hours before departure. Adding to the confusion, Italy's official page says 72 hours before arrival. But I'm still 65 days out. Hopefully there will be more clarity before long.

[Kitekat]

20 minutes ago, austinetc said:

I think that most past cruisers with VIking will agree that 1) the ships and crew are incredibly skilled, caring people and 2) their corporate offices are somewhat lacking. Clearly, Viking sinks their profits into the cruise part of the trip and less into the cruise preparation aspect. 

 

At the moment my frustration is the same as yours. Viking pushes the guidance that PCR testing must be done 48 hours before arrival into Italy, but their main page about testing says 72 hours before departure. Adding to the confusion, Italy's official page says 72 hours before arrival. But I'm still 65 days out. Hopefully there will be more clarity before long.

I wouldn't bet on it... 65 days is just over 2 months. We received an email this last week which included information about our return to the UK after our cruise on 17 Feb - it included information that was 4 months out of date!

[SailorPaulH]

More good news: Iceland appears to be dropping all border and domestic restrictions within the next week

 

From Iceland — COVID Roundup: Health Minister May Lift All Border Restrictions In Next Few Days (grapevine.is)

 

From Iceland — Health Minister May Lift All Coronavirus Restrictions In 10 Days Or Sooner (grapevine.is)

[uktog]

And the bad news, I see on the roll call it took 8.5 hours of quarantine in your cabins yesterday in Bergen to get test results. How can Viking justify this now all countries are moving forward to live with the virus and even the CDC have lowered the rating risk of cruising 

[uktog]

My travel agent contacted viking because the instructions in relation to Norway conflicted - was the test x hours before boarding the ship or before boarding the flight.  (One paragraph said one thing, a second the other).

We have received a response in writing that it is x hours before boarding the FLIGHT.  This works far better for us, so we will be booking tests based on the response from Viking which we have in writing (and I will be carrying a copy of the response with us!)

Edited February 22, 2022 by uktog

[longterm]

On 2/3/2022 at 10:36 AM, uktog said:

Correct the official government websites have been updated with this good news. 
 

Now just need to stop being contained in my cabin for six hours after boarding. No one else does that. They test ashore and you have your results in 30 minutes and can happily board. I’m struggling still why Viking takes so long 

They must've started that after Christmas, because we did a Dec. 13th cruise, and went straight from the airport onto the ship, where we were allowed free access. The daily spit tests started the following morning (no big deal once you get used to it).

We're headed to Rome in 6 days, then onto Viking Sky 5 days after that; we're getting PCR tests on Saturday the 26th. We scheduled 2 tests Saturday morning, just in case there happens to be any issue with the 1st one (which we don't anticipate). 

My understanding is that we'll have to have another test done in Rome a couple of days before boarding the ship, so we'll work that out once we're there.

[uktog]

On 2/16/2022 at 4:47 PM, uktog said:

OK I have reached the end of my tether with Viking relating to testing.

The link on My Viking Journey was not working so I engaged in online chat with a nice gentleman.  He kindly sent me the document detailing the testing requirements.  It is headed up Norway (US Canadian, UK, AU and NZ guests).

Bullet point 3 says PCR test taken 72 hours before boarding your SHIP (Antigen 24 hours). Viking will accept select at-home Covid 19 tests.  OK clear enough

Unfortunately the pre departure check list further down the page says Bullet point 33 for UK guests only PCR tests 72 hours before boarding first FLIGHT (antigen 24 hours) -again reference to select at home tests.  Massive 26 hour difference in our Viking air flights timeline.

 

Anyway I asked the question is it 72 hours before boarding the ship or boarding the flight (response - good question, do not know)

Why is Bullet 3 only for UK guests (response do not know but probably because US guests have to do tests to get into Norway - no longer true, but for us this is a minor point and only one of curiosity)

I asked which at home tests they accept and the response was they were not aware of UK tests accepted.

 

The agent did say they would email me if they found out more information but I sail in just over three weeks, its getting more and more likely if Viking cannot give me accurate information I have to walk away from this trip but unfortunately Im handcuffed as its one that has a cancellation by Viking voucher attached to it so I would not get a cash refund.

 

This is my first time sailing with Viking, many cruisers I have met on Azamara have told me how wonderful it is, I wanted to believe them and experience it myself.  Even setting aside their more excessive testing regimes I have tried to be positive but this shambles leaves me fed up to the back teeth.

 

(Oh and live chat is not for UK guests even though it pops up on your screen, the agent advised they are US based and do not have answers to UK related queries)

Finally Viking have corrected the inconsistency in their communications - the time line is x hours from boarding your first flight

[SailorPaulH]

 

Iceland is dropping all remaining restrictions on Friday 2/25/22. This includes all remaining border restrictions ...

 

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/iceland-lift-all-covid-19-restrictions-friday-media-reports-2022-02-23/

 

I will be using Icelandair to go Newark, NJ -> Keflavik (Iceland) -> Oslo in late June for the July 6 Bergen -> Reykjavik cruise. Look at what just got added to the Icelandair web-site.

 

https://www.icelandair.com/blog/iceland-is-open-faq/

 

From Friday, February 25, there are no longer any COVID-related border restrictions for travel to Iceland*. All visitors are welcome, with no requirement for a PCR test to board aircraft, or testing or quarantine upon arrival. There is no longer a requirement to present a certificate of vaccination or of prior COVID-19 infection.

(my emphasis)

 

Could this be the start of more testing relaxation from Viking? Right now, my only requirement for test (before my flight) until I reach the ship is that Viking requires one (Iceland and Norway have discarded their requirements). I recommend everyone keep a watchful eye on their MVJ accounts - things are moving more quickly, it seems.

[longterm]

3 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

 

Iceland is dropping all remaining restrictions on Friday 2/25/22. This includes all remaining border restrictions ...

 

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/iceland-lift-all-covid-19-restrictions-friday-media-reports-2022-02-23/

 

I will be using Icelandair to go Newark, NJ -> Keflavik (Iceland) -> Oslo in late June for the July 6 Bergen -> Reykjavik cruise. Look at what just got added to the Icelandair web-site.

 

https://www.icelandair.com/blog/iceland-is-open-faq/

 

From Friday, February 25, there are no longer any COVID-related border restrictions for travel to Iceland*. All visitors are welcome, with no requirement for a PCR test to board aircraft, or testing or quarantine upon arrival. There is no longer a requirement to present a certificate of vaccination or of prior COVID-19 infection.

(my emphasis)

 

Could this be the start of more testing relaxation from Viking? Right now, my only requirement for test (before my flight) until I reach the ship is that Viking requires one (Iceland and Norway have discarded their requirements). I recommend everyone keep a watchful eye on their MVJ accounts - things are moving more quickly, it seems.

We can only hope; we leave for Italy on Monday morning, so at this point, we have to:

 

1. Get PCR tests Saturday so we can enter Italy;

2. Get yet another test when we get to the airport in Rome;

3. Get PCR tests on March 3rd so we can get on the ship;

4. Get spit tests when we get on board the ship;

5 thru 18. Get daily spit tests while we're on board;

19. Get a test in Athens when we leave our post-extension hotel so that we can re-enter the US.

So we'll get 19 tests on this trip... 🙂

 

It'll sure be nice when this is no longer necessary, but having had a mild case of Covid, I'm more than willing to do whatever's necessary to help get to the end of this.

[SailorPaulH]

18 minutes ago, longterm said:

We can only hope; we leave for Italy on Monday morning, so at this point, we have to:

 

1. Get PCR tests Saturday so we can enter Italy;

2. Get yet another test when we get to the airport in Rome;

3. Get PCR tests on March 3rd so we can get on the ship;

4. Get spit tests when we get on board the ship;

5 thru 18. Get daily spit tests while we're on board;

19. Get a test in Athens when we leave our post-extension hotel so that we can re-enter the US.

So we'll get 19 tests on this trip... 🙂

 

It'll sure be nice when this is no longer necessary, but having had a mild case of Covid, I'm more than willing to do whatever's necessary to help get to the end of this.

 

It looks like you are just missing out on some simplification ...

https://www.thelocal.it/20220222/latest-italy-to-ease-covid-rules-for-non-eu-arrivals-on-march-1st/

 

The wife and I fulfil the vax requirements and we both went down with Delta last fall (I tested great for antibodies just recently, my doc wanted me to test) - so I feel confident I will be cruising in relative safety ,,,, but I agree, I can put up with a few inconveniences so that fellow passengers will also feel confident and enjoy their experience. Enjoy Italy and safe travels!

[longterm]

5 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

 

It looks like you are just missing out on some simplification ...

https://www.thelocal.it/20220222/latest-italy-to-ease-covid-rules-for-non-eu-arrivals-on-march-1st/

 

The wife and I fulfil the vax requirements and we both went down with Delta last fall (I tested great for antibodies just recently, my doc wanted me to test) - so I feel confident I will be cruising in relative safety ,,,, but I agree, I can put up with a few inconveniences so that fellow passengers will also feel confident and enjoy their experience. Enjoy Italy and safe travels!

That's interesting; so we really don't need our vax on Saturday, since we're arriving on March 1st in Rome. We'll probably go ahead and get the tests anyway on Saturday, since it's free and we'd rather err on the side of caution.

I wonder if they're going to have us do a test in the airport then... 

We'll still have to get tested to get on the ship, which means we'll pause our private walking tour to get tested on the 3rd to get on the ship on the 5th.

 

[longterm]

Interesting; apparently Italy has also slightly relaxed mask requirements--still required while inside public spaces or in a crowded outdoor space, but no longer required if you're just walking down the street.

We'll probably wear them anyway just to avoid any issues; it'll be interesting to see what the locals are doing, as opposed to here in north Texas, where masks are almost non-existent. Nuff said.

[SailorPaulH]

On 2/17/2022 at 9:14 PM, SailorPaulH said:

More good news: Iceland appears to be dropping all border and domestic restrictions within the next week

 

From Iceland — COVID Roundup: Health Minister May Lift All Border Restrictions In Next Few Days (grapevine.is)

 

From Iceland — Health Minister May Lift All Coronavirus Restrictions In 10 Days Or Sooner (grapevine.is)

 

In addition, the need to pre-register to visit Iceland has been dropped (same as Norway).

https://visit.covid.is/registration/

[OnTheJourney]

On 2/23/2022 at 8:47 PM, longterm said:

in Rome

What did you have to do for the EU Digital Passenger Locator form? Is that all on the passengers to take care of or does Viking do this? That form is not a piece of cake since it wants to know the details of every possible mode of transportation being used. 

[PRH]

Given the number of antigen tests we need for upcoming cruises and a side trip to UK, we went ahead andvordered the eMed proctored packet—we arrive two to three days for both cruises traveling independently.  I was going crazy trying to figure out where to get tests, costs, availablility and locations in order to meet Viking’s requirements.  Finally just gave up!  Hopefully hotel wifi will be sufficient for the test proctoring.  We used eMed before and it worked very well—especially when our Walgreens test appointment was canceled the morning of our scheduled tests!  

[longterm]

18 hours ago, PRH said:

Given the number of antigen tests we need for upcoming cruises and a side trip to UK, we went ahead andvordered the eMed proctored packet—we arrive two to three days for both cruises traveling independently.  I was going crazy trying to figure out where to get tests, costs, availablility and locations in order to meet Viking’s requirements.  Finally just gave up!  Hopefully hotel wifi will be sufficient for the test proctoring.  We used eMed before and it worked very well—especially when our Walgreens test appointment was canceled the morning of our scheduled tests!  

We walked into a local pharmacy near our hotel in Rome yesterday, got antigen tests (44 euros); little did we know that we'd end up getting 3 tests in less than 24 hours.

We didn't get quarantined on ship when we went on a Viking Caribbean cruise in December; apparently they're changing policy as things get adjusted, or perhaps this on-ship quarantine was mandated by Italy.

All Italian restaurants required masks and cards (or green passes for Italians), and they were consistent about asking for them. I made copies of my CDC card, which is a good thing, since I managed to lose 2 copies before I left Rome (duh).

[TinaLee]

7 minutes ago, longterm said:

We walked into a local pharmacy near our hotel in Rome yesterday, got antigen tests (44 euros); little did we know that we'd end up getting 3 tests in less than 24 hours.

We didn't get quarantined on ship when we went on a Viking Caribbean cruise in December; apparently they're changing policy as things get adjusted, or perhaps this on-ship quarantine was mandated by Italy.

All Italian restaurants required masks and cards (or green passes for Italians), and they were consistent about asking for them. I made copies of my CDC card, which is a good thing, since I managed to lose 2 copies before I left Rome (duh).

Exactly how it went for us. Did they ask to see the test at the port? Never did ask to see ours, which made me a little bit crazy. But did have the nasal swab at the port and spit test with room quarantine on the ship. I wasn't expecting the one at the port beforehand. 

 

We also copied our CDC cards and showed them everywhere. Only once place asked to see the booster - lol. 

[longterm]

12 minutes ago, TinaLee said:

Exactly how it went for us. Did they ask to see the test at the port? Never did ask to see ours, which made me a little bit crazy. But did have the nasal swab at the port and spit test with room quarantine on the ship. I wasn't expecting the one at the port beforehand. 

 

We also copied our CDC cards and showed them everywhere. Only once place asked to see the booster - lol. 

Yes, they did look at our test results at the port, and gave us rapid tests. 

[uktog]

1 hour ago, longterm said:

We didn't get quarantined on ship when we went on a Viking Caribbean cruise in December; apparently they're changing policy as things get adjusted, or perhaps this on-ship quarantine was mandated by Italy.
 

They are quarantining everyone on every ship.  Have been for since mid January.  How long did it take to get your results?

[longterm]

6 minutes ago, uktog said:

They are quarantining everyone on every ship.  Have been for since mid January.  How long did it take to get your results?

Well, funny you should ask... or perhaps not so funny...

We arrived early, so were the first on the ship at about 10:30am; gave our saliva tests at about 11am. We're still sitting in our stateroom, 7-1/2 hours later. 

In all fairness to Viking, we were here about 3-1/2 hours early; we weren't scheduled to board until 2pm, so they did tell us that we'd probably wait longer than everyone because they processed the results in a huge batch...

Edited March 5, 2022 by longterm

[uktog]

17 minutes ago, longterm said:

Well, funny you should ask... or perhaps not so funny...

We arrived early, so were the first on the ship at about 10:30am; gave our saliva tests at about 11am. We're still sitting in our stateroom, 7-1/2 hours later. 

In all fairness to Viking, we were here about 3-1/2 hours early; we weren't scheduled to board until 2pm, so they did tell us that we'd probably wait longer than everyone because they processed the results in a huge batch...

So the odds of eating in the dining room tonight are receeding?

Edited March 5, 2022 by uktog
spelling

[TinaLee]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

So the odds of eating in the dining room tonight are receeding?

We were out by dinner. First to board in Rome right at 11 am - half the ship had boarded the week before in Athens, so they had already turned in their daily saliva tests before we boarded. We were out of our cabin before 6 pm. 

[longterm]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

So the odds of eating in the dining room tonight are receeding?

Had a a nice dinner in our stateroom. 😎

[uktog]

Just now, longterm said:

Had a a nice dinner in our stateroom. 😎

Glad you had but I did not go on a cruise to eat my first night meal in the room.  Have you been released yet (I am happy to do dinner late)

[OnTheJourney]

6 hours ago, longterm said:

gave our saliva tests at about 11am. We're still sitting in our stateroom, 7-1/2 hours later. 

That's insane. This is why I'm leaving my options open as to still maybe canceling the May cruise we have booked to Rome. Sometimes just sounds like way too much trouble.