Positive For Covid on Viking

[CurlerRob]

8 hours ago, Squawkman said:

Quarantined pax are given the phone extension for the medical office and will be given test results for that day if they were not called. There were at least 20 pax in quarantine when I was on the Jupiter, so it can get busy for the medical staff. - so just call if you didn't hear.

Thanks for this info. It's perfectly reasonable to have pax call for results. I was overly influenced by eel's mention of "pushback" in acquiring his results - that would not be acceptable.

 

8 hours ago, Squawkman said:

True, but Viking's policy is conforming with the CDC guide as <90 days excuses you from a Covid test to enter most countries. I don't think it's necessarily "simpler" for Viking to conform. If they allow 91 days, why not 92? 

Not deviating from a rule is always simpler for a provider - it eliminated the need for analysis or decision-making on the part of staff. (Of course, strict rule adherence also avoids inconsistency in policy application and reduces liability due to errors ... it's not black and white).

 

My real point was that if I saw a person with a positive PCR test on day 'x', followed by multiple negative tests on succeeding days, I'd be highly suspicious of the validity of the positive. PCR tests are generally sensitive enough that they shouldn't turn negative overnight in an infected person. In this particular case, I simply found it unfortunate that there didn't appear to be any room for professional medical judgement.

 

That said, we all know the policies and the risks, so it's up to us.  🍺🥌

[Squawkman]

CurlerRob  - I agree that there should be room for professional medical judgment, but it isn’t applied for test results. One woman we were in contact with had an inconclusive test - but the doctor deemed it the same as positive with no chance to retest. 
 

I don’t want to get into this here, but suffice to say we had issues with the doctor and reported everything to Viking CR.

[CurlerRob]

6 hours ago, Begete said:

If one tests positive and cannot get on a plane back to the USA that person will need to go into quarantine in a hotel.  I assume that one’s travel insurance will cover the hotel, meals and medical costs, but what responsibility does the cruise line have?  Will they assist with rescheduling flights?  Airport transfers?  Finding a hotel?

 

Does the travel insurance have a cap on the price of a hotel room?

 

The cruise line responsibility is likely dependent on who you are sailing with, and the rapidly evolving policies. Recently, a number of the Carnival lines stopped providing disembarkation tests, requiring pax to arrange tests for themselves if required to fly home. (This was not well received by surprised pax).

 

One of the prevailing themes is the thought that if the cruise line does not test you prior to disembarkation, then you are not their problem if you test positive once on shore. In that case, it's over to you to deal with flights / xfers / hotels.

 

Cruising ... not for the faint of heart right now.  🍺🥌

[Berlin Bear]

7 hours ago, KBs mum said:

We booked over the phone, the itinerary was in a leaflet. We had no reason to look at the website, and we were not asked to do so by Viking. 

We also booked our March cruise over the phone with Viking UK (this is no longer possible due to Brexit!) and in the email with the final e-documents there was the following reference:

 

“As your embarkation date approaches, please take time to review the important health and safety requirements for your voyage in MyVikingJourney.com. Travel will feel slightly different and to ensure you are prepared - from pre-flight procedures to local regulations - we encourage you to access this information now.“

This reference probably covers Viking‘s back.

 

We unfortunately tested positive on embarkation day and spent 10 days in quarantine. We were treated very well considering the circumstances and told that they were applying CDC guidelines and that we would be released at the latest after 10 days, whether positive or not. In fact, we both tested positive for 12 days. As we had looked at Viking‘s information on health and safety requirements, none of this really came as a surprise.

[KBs mum]

2 hours ago, Berlin Bear said:

We also booked our March cruise over the phone with Viking UK (this is no longer possible due to Brexit!) and in the email with the final e-documents there was the following reference:

 

“As your embarkation date approaches, please take time to review the important health and safety requirements for your voyage in MyVikingJourney.com. Travel will feel slightly different and to ensure you are prepared - from pre-flight procedures to local regulations - we encourage you to access this information now.“

This reference probably covers Viking‘s back.

 

We unfortunately tested positive on embarkation day and spent 10 days in quarantine. We were treated very well considering the circumstances and told that they were applying CDC guidelines and that we would be released at the latest after 10 days, whether positive or not. In fact, we both tested positive for 12 days. As we had looked at Viking‘s information on health and safety requirements, none of this really came as a surprise.

We only have the booking confirmation document, in the past information provided by viking regarding local laws has been incorrect, so we check the relevent government's website, and Foreign Office advice. 

Initially all the testing etc was necessary due to the countries visited requiring testing, but now a lot don't, so why continue with it? 

[bbtondo]

What crew members/titles are actually performing the covid tests in the lab onboard?  How many crew have touched the covid tubes before the person in the lab touches it to perform the test? Many people on my cruise left their tubes outside their door to be picked up.  Technically anyone could have touched the tubes or kicked up "covid dust" as they walked by.  LOL Just wondering what the quality control is. 

[LindaS272]

2 hours ago, bbtondo said:

What crew members/titles are actually performing the covid tests in the lab onboard? 

There’s a video on this on the Viking website. It’s a qualified/certified company Viking has contracted with to perform lab analysis. I can’t remember if it’s four or eight people—but it’s not regular Viking crew.

[Mich3554]

3 hours ago, bbtondo said:

What crew members/titles are actually performing the covid tests in the lab onboard?  How many crew have touched the covid tubes before the person in the lab touches it to perform the test? Many people on my cruise left their tubes outside their door to be picked up.  Technically anyone could have touched the tubes or kicked up "covid dust" as they walked by.  LOL Just wondering what the quality control is. 

You put your tube in a sealed bag and drop said sealed bag into another bag.  Even if you leave the tubes outside the door, they are still in a sealed bag.  
I have worked in a lab for 30+ years and this is pretty much standard when I collected human samples for other things.  Covid doesn’t just jump into a sealed tube, in a sealed bag.

[millybess]

1 hour ago, Mich3554 said:

You put your tube in a sealed bag and drop said sealed bag into another bag.  Even if you leave the tubes outside the door, they are still in a sealed bag.  
I have worked in a lab for 30+ years and this is pretty much standard when I collected human samples for other things.  Covid doesn’t just jump into a sealed tube, in a sealed bag.

On Jupiter now and we put each tube in a “resealable” (sometimes not so much) bag and those two bags go outside the door sometime between 9pm and 8am. There was yet another mix up on our deck last night and that’s just the only one we heard about because we happened to hear the cabin occupants speaking with the attendant as we were passing by. 

 

Before joining the ship, we very much supported the idea of daily testing, but since being on board and watching the chaotic implementation, we think it’s not only ineffective,  but detrimental. 

[EJLobster]

6 hours ago, bbtondo said:

What crew members/titles are actually performing the covid tests in the lab onboard?  How many crew have touched the covid tubes before the person in the lab touches it to perform the test? Many people on my cruise left their tubes outside their door to be picked up.  Technically anyone could have touched the tubes or kicked up "covid dust" as they walked by.  LOL Just wondering what the quality control is. 

What is covid dust?   (insert puzzled emoji)

[FetaCheese]

On 5/9/2022 at 8:21 PM, eel said:

I tested positive on April 18th on Viking Orion. My wife was also injured in an avoidable accident on the cruise. Here is a summary of what happened 

 

On Day 2 of the cruise, we went to the Explorer's Dome for the Whales and Dolphin's show that we had booked for 3 PM. When we go there a few minutes early, people outside said the show had started about 20 minutes before 3 PM. The group that arrived were surprised. We all went in to get seats. While in the dark theater, my wife Petra fell down the three steps in the rear. There was nothing blocking the steps. After the show, Petra realized she was pretty badly injured. The guy running the show took her to medical. He admitted he had messed up by starting the show way too early. Although X-rays were negative, she was in a lot of pain. She could only walk with crutches for a few days. After that she could use a cane and still has trouble walking. She saw her doctor and may get an MRI this week.

 

While in medical, the doctor told me he was looking for me! Apparently my April 18 COVID test was inconclusive. They test in groups of 4 and one of the samples was positive. They sent me back to my cabin while they tested all four samples individually.

 

I told the doctor I had a recovery letter and emailed him a copy. He told me it was no longer valid as they are only good for 90 days and it was day 91 from my prior infection. A while later the doctor called and said I was the positive test. I had to move to an isolation cabin for the duration of the cruise. My injured, immobile wife had to quarantine in our original cabin for 5 days assuming she continued to test negative. She always tested negative and was released on day 6.

 

Needless to say, we were in shock. I felt fine and had zero symptoms the entire cruise. I kept asking the nurse (who checked me daily) how my subsequent tests were going. She said nothing had changed.

 

On the last day of the cruise, the nurse brought me a "recovery letter" from the doctor along with my positive test report from April 18 and my final test from April 24th. I was shocked that my final test was negative. It is very common to test positive on a PCR for weeks or months after being infected. I asked the nurse to bring me all of my tests. After some pushback, they brought them. I was further shocked to see that after April 18 there were no positive test results! I find this incredible. All the facts point to a false positive.

 

In any case, we made it home fine after the cruise. I took a nasal swab PCR test the next day and that was also negative. When I actually had COVID in January (mild case) I tested positive on a PCR test for at least 5 weeks! No way I would be negative after one day.

 

On board I had spoken to the guest services manager about requesting a refund. She asked through internal channels but was told I should make a formal request to customer relations when I got home. I put together a detailed letter explaining everything and included supporting documentation, including all the negative test reports. 

 

Just today Customer Relations contacted me and said my request for a refund was denied. They offered a partial Future Cruise Credit which we have no interest in. 

 

I asked that this be appealed to management. They agreed to do that. On my own I forwarded my original email to the director of customer relations, the VP of customer contact and the CEO. I have also contacted a Maritime Attorney to see if I have a case.

 

We are one and done with Viking.

EEL, what is the Explorer's Dome?

[Heidi13]

48 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

EEL, what is the Explorer's Dome?

 

It's only on Orion & Jupiter, which have the planetariums installed, which require a dome sticking up on the deck above.

[FetaCheese]

Thanks Andy, I was on Venus. 1st time on V

[Twitchly]

8 hours ago, millybess said:

On Jupiter now and we put each tube in a “resealable” (sometimes not so much) bag and those two bags go outside the door sometime between 9pm and 8am. There was yet another mix up on our deck last night and that’s just the only one we heard about because we happened to hear the cabin occupants speaking with the attendant as we were passing by. 

 

Before joining the ship, we very much supported the idea of daily testing, but since being on board and watching the chaotic implementation, we think it’s not only ineffective,  but detrimental. 

This would be great info to send to tellus@vikingcruises.com.

[JollyJacqTar]

11 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

EEL, what is the Explorer's Dome?

They show 3D films on various topics. I went once but it made me feel nauseous so I sat there with my eyes closed most of the time. My husband went to other showings and I sat outside drinking gin, I think I had the better experience 😀

Edited May 12, 2022 by JollyJacqTar
Spelling 😵‍💫

[sundaycreek]

3 hours ago, JollyJacqTar said:

They show 3D films on various topics. I went once but it made me feel nauseous so I sat there with my eyes closed most of the time. My husband went to other showings and I sat outside drinking gin, I think I had the better experience 😀

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one to feel nauseous in there!  I tried it twice but after the second time, also decided that sitting in the Explorer’s Lounge with a nice glass of wine was a better choice for me!

[duquephart]

There's a reason they aren't building them anymore.

[Squawkman]

11 hours ago, Twitchly said:

This would be great info to send to tellus@vikingcruises.com.

Or if you don’t feel like writing a missive, just call Viking and ask for Customer Relations. That group is very accessible and responds when they say they will. 

[jasardeax]

On Orion now. 
We have been doing our saliva tests in the morning, leaving the completed ones in our cabin, and going to breakfast around 8 AM. When we return they have been picked up.

Assume sometime between 

8 and 9 AM. We haven’t really noticed any sitting outside of

 stateroom doors. As far as we can tell, pickup has been very efficient. 

[millybess]

3 hours ago, Squawkman said:

Or if you don’t feel like writing a missive, just call Viking and ask for Customer Relations. That group is very accessible and responds when they say they will. 

We have no plans to complain to anyone.  We left the ship today and are enjoying a lovely sojourn in Santorini for a week or so. Even though we made no complaint and only pointed out to Guest Services that we had received the wrong tubes, we got a very nice, unexpected note from the GM.

 

Our next cruise with Viking is next spring and if their testing procedures are still in place, we will choose to do something else. As others have said here, we as passengers have accepted these conditions. We expected the procedures that they had put in place would run smoothly. That wasn’t the case for us and many others on Jupiter.  It’s possible it’s “ship specific”.

 

I will say that last night we both received a “negative” certificate in case we needed it to continue our travels — we don’t, but others going to the US will. The problem with that is that it is a PCR test that is not proctored and it could easily be possible that one of us provided both samples and If that was the case, Viking would have issued an invalid certificate. 

[bbtondo]

On 5/11/2022 at 3:26 PM, EJLobster said:

What is covid dust?   (insert puzzled emoji)

It is carried by a magical covid dragon that spreads the covid dust in the air. Lol my covid dust remark was a joke.

[Tropicalpunch]

I asked the Viking call in- rep about this and he said that passengers would be refunded any unused part of the trip if they get off the ship because of Covid.  Viking will find hotel for the stay and rearrange air flight reservation.  The hotel in on you.  Trip insurance will or should cover because of trip interruption.

We leave Sunday and pray we don't get Covid\.

[Twitchly]

58 minutes ago, Tropicalpunch said:

I asked the Viking call in- rep about this and he said that passengers would be refunded any unused part of the trip if they get off the ship because of Covid.  Viking will find hotel for the stay and rearrange air flight reservation.  The hotel in on you.  Trip insurance will or should cover because of trip interruption.

We leave Sunday and pray we don't get Covid\.

We got confirmation today from our insurance company (not Viking’s) that we’re only covered for trip interruption if we quarantine off the boat. So now we know what to do.

 

Hope you have a lovely, Covid-free cruise. 

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, Tropicalpunch said:

I asked the Viking call in- rep about this and he said that passengers would be refunded any unused part of the trip if they get off the ship because of Covid.  Viking will find hotel for the stay and rearrange air flight reservation.  The hotel in on you.  Trip insurance will or should cover because of trip interruption.

We leave Sunday and pray we don't get Covid\.

 

This all depends on the requirements of the country you are visiting. In some countries, you are quarantined at the discretion of the local government. The cruise line has zero input.

[Roz326]

On 4/30/2022 at 10:02 AM, wearereadytogo said:

My husband and I are currently on a Viking ship and tested positive for covid and are in isolation. They are making us as comfortable as possible but obviously this is not what we planned. Does anyone know if we will get any kind of refund or credit? 

If you have Viking insurance, they will cover your hotel, food and air expenses. If you have other insurance or no insurance you are on your own to pay up front for the same. Your passport and air will be flagged and after 10 days you can reenter the U.S. with a doctor issued fit to fly document. I have written to Viking about our recent COVID experience but have not had the courtesty of reply from them so cannot answer what they may or may not do.