Viking Ocean Daily testing COVID REQUIREMENT

[DJMC travelers]

I am scheduled to leave on The Viking Homelands cruise on June 13th. I happened to notice yesterday on My Viking Journey page that another button had been added regarding Pre-Departure testing requirements. It stated that  pre-departure COVID PCR or Antigen testing was required before my husband and I board our flight from US. I need to state we never received an email regarding this change. Upon arrival in Stockholm and being transferred directly to the ship, We would be given a saliva test in our stateroom. Then I asked if there would be anymore testing during the cruise and was informed that every passenger would be tested EVERY DAY!!!! I couldn’t believe it! When I then asked when Viking made this change (again I had not been notified about this through email) I was told that had been Viking’s COVID protocol all along!! Am I the only person that was not aware of this? The only COVID testing and I had been made aware of previouslywas the saliva test upon boarding the ship.

Unfortunately my husband and I are planning to cancel our trip. We have been vaccinated and double Boosted, but don’t feel we can take the risk of testing positive sometime throughout the cruise being that Viking does not even require people to be boosted…..which doesn’t seem consistent with this Excessive testing policy. And what truly shocks me is that I wouldn’t have even discovered about the daily testing requirement had I not called. 
Please respond and tell me if I had missed some form of communication from Viking regarding these COVID policy testing changes. 

 

[duquephart]

Testing policies are well known and the subject of much discussion here. Not sure where you've been. And, you are far from alone as far as taking a dim view.

[jasardeax]

25 minutes ago, DJMC travelers said:

We have been vaccinated and double Boosted, but don’t feel we can take the risk of testing positive

 

If you can take risk of traveling during COVID, why can’t you take the risk of testing positive?

Wouldn’t you prefer to know if you or any of your shipmates had COVID?

 

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

We are taking our first Viking Ocean cruise in September. The daily testing has been a well known fact with Viking ever since they resumed sailing. How did you not know this when you booked your cruise? I feel it is unnecessary and an inconvenience, but we knew it upfront and accepted it has part of our cruise. 

[Heidi13]

34 minutes ago, DJMC travelers said:

I am scheduled to leave on The Viking Homelands cruise on June 13th. I happened to notice yesterday on My Viking Journey page that another button had been added regarding Pre-Departure testing requirements. It stated that  pre-departure COVID PCR or Antigen testing was required before my husband and I board our flight from US. I need to state we never received an email regarding this change. Upon arrival in Stockholm and being transferred directly to the ship, We would be given a saliva test in our stateroom. Then I asked if there would be anymore testing during the cruise and was informed that every passenger would be tested EVERY DAY!!!! I couldn’t believe it! When I then asked when Viking made this change (again I had not been notified about this through email) I was told that had been Viking’s COVID protocol all along!! Am I the only person that was not aware of this? The only COVID testing and I had been made aware of previouslywas the saliva test upon boarding the ship.

Unfortunately my husband and I are planning to cancel our trip. We have been vaccinated and double Boosted, but don’t feel we can take the risk of testing positive sometime throughout the cruise being that Viking does not even require people to be boosted…..which doesn’t seem consistent with this Excessive testing policy. And what truly shocks me is that I wouldn’t have even discovered about the daily testing requirement had I not called. 
Please respond and tell me if I had missed some form of communication from Viking regarding these COVID policy testing changes. 

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic, as I noted this is your first post. I am surprised you were not aware of this information, as Viking have provided it to you in multiple places. Even with our next cruise more than 6 months in advance, we have been notified.

 

Website

Viking developed the COVID-19 protocols in December 2020 and they have been published on the website ever since.

 

Guest Statement

Our guest statements make multiple references:

• Link to the Viking Terms & Conditions, which makes mention of the COVID requirements and provides a further link to the Health & Safety Policy (on all statements)
• Itinerary Information - the statement clearly states that pre-testing is required (all 2022 statements)
• Pre-cruise requirements - it provides a link to the pre-cruise requirements (all 2022 statements)

 

MVJ

Under "Before You Go" we have a pre-cruise requirements that clearly outlines the testing requirements. This is not new, and we have it available for cruises that are still more than 1-year from departure.

 

Booking

When you booked and paid the deposit, in addition to the Guest Statement, Viking attach a copy of the terms & conditions, which clearly mention the COVID precautions and provide a link.

[Twitchly]

It’s a hot-button topic on the discussion boards. But if you aren’t an internet junkie, I can see how you could miss knowing about this. It certainly wasn’t emphasized in the documentation we received, and it’s well buried on the web site. 

[Squawkman]

4 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

It’s a hot-button topic on the discussion boards. But if you aren’t an internet junkie, I can see how you could miss knowing about this. It certainly wasn’t emphasized in the documentation we received, and it’s well buried on the web site. 

My Viking agent asked if we were aware and offered to explain the policy if we didn’t know about it. This was in addition to all the references in post #5.

[CCWineLover]

3 hours ago, DJMC travelers said:

Am I the only person that was not aware of this?

 

 

Yes you likely are.  This has been Viking's policy for quite some time.

 

There have so many discussions about it on various forums like CruiseCritic and others since the initial Viking WelcomeBack cruises began last June 2021.

[Haqdeluxe]

3 hours ago, DJMC travelers said:

Am I the only person that was not aware of this?

 

Torstein Hagen personally came to our home, presented us with a very nice Ginzu Knife gift set and then spent the better part of two hours detailing all that is Viking's current Covid-19 protocol. After a period of answering questions he smoothly transitioned into his pitch to sell us a whole-house water softener system and a new Kirby vacuum cleaner. We didn't know they even still made Kirby vacuum cleaners? 😁

Edited May 13, 2022 by Haqdeluxe

[Twitchly]

46 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

My Viking agent asked if we were aware and offered to explain the policy if we didn’t know about it. This was in addition to all the references in post #5.

Good. Our TA said nothing about it. I found out about it here.

[TayanaLorna]

31 minutes ago, Haqdeluxe said:

 

Torstein Hagen personally came to our home, presented us with a very nice Ginzu Knife gift set and then spent the better part of two hours detailing all that is Viking's current Covid-19 protocol. After a period of answering questions he smoothly transitioned into his pitch to sell us a whole-house water softener system and a new Kirby vacuum cleaner. We didn't know they even still made Kirby vacuum cleaners? 😁

Ah you are much kinder. I was going to ask what rock have you been living under?

[trtog7]

5 hours ago, duquephart said:

Testing policies are well known and the subject of much discussion here. Not sure where you've been. And, you are far from alone as far as taking a dim view.

Sailed on Viking in January and felt safer because everyone was tested evry day.

 

[doowopbob]

We are booked for our first Viking cruise this December.  I am aware of the daily testing requirement but had hoped by now it would have been stopped.  If it isn't before our cruise we will cancel.

[WNcruiser]

Some of you are being unfair to the OP.  They just joined CC so they obviously haven't spent time on the boards before. If someone has cruised previously on any other cruise line besides Viking they would not have been tested daily. If you booked on the website you could easily miss the daily testing information. 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by WNcruiser

[Viking Guy]

3 hours ago, Haqdeluxe said:

 

Torstein Hagen personally came to our home, presented us with a very nice Ginzu Knife gift set and then spent the better part of two hours detailing all that is Viking's current Covid-19 protocol. After a period of answering questions he smoothly transitioned into his pitch to sell us a whole-house water softener system and a new Kirby vacuum cleaner. We didn't know they even still made Kirby vacuum cleaners? 😁

PRICELESS!!!!!!!

[Squawkman]

1 hour ago, WNcruiser said:

Some of you are being unfair to the OP.  They just joined CC so they obviously haven't spent time on the boards before. If someone has cruised previously on any other cruise line besides Viking they would not have been tested daily. If you booked on the website you could easily miss the daily testing information. 

 

But OP’s initial surprise was needing a PCR or antigen test before their flight - every cruise line requires that. All a non-issue as they’re cancelling.

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic, as I noted this is your first post. I am surprised you were not aware of this information, as Viking have provided it to you in multiple places. Even with our next cruise more than 6 months in advance, we have been notified.

 

Website

Viking developed the COVID-19 protocols in December 2020 and they have been published on the website ever since.

 

Guest Statement

Our guest statements make multiple references:

• Link to the Viking Terms & Conditions, which makes mention of the COVID requirements and provides a further link to the Health & Safety Policy (on all statements)
• Itinerary Information - the statement clearly states that pre-testing is required (all 2022 statements)
• Pre-cruise requirements - it provides a link to the pre-cruise requirements (all 2022 statements)

 

MVJ

Under "Before You Go" we have a pre-cruise requirements that clearly outlines the testing requirements. This is not new, and we have it available for cruises that are still more than 1-year from departure.

 

Booking

When you booked and paid the deposit, in addition to the Guest Statement, Viking attach a copy of the terms & conditions, which clearly mention the COVID precautions and provide a link.

Add tons of messages on Facebook!

[Heidi13]

6 hours ago, Twitchly said:

Good. Our TA said nothing about it. I found out about it here.

Fire your travel agent!

[Twitchly]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

Fire your travel agent!

Done. Though not specifically for that reason. 

[Blue willow]

DJMC travelers,

We just cruised with Viking late last month.

While I dislike spitting into a vial daily, it was no big deal to comply.

Daily testing did make me feel safer on board since positive cases were identified and the affected passengers quarantined. 

I don't know how many cases, but I do know we were not among them, and we had a wonderful cruise. 

 

Please reconsider cancelling your cruise because of the daily testing requirement.

The last two years of COVID19 restrictions on travel have demonstrated that we need to seize the day now, when we can, to create happy memories.

Odds are great that you will have a superlative time! 

Sermon concluded.  

[deec]

Mostly I disliked having to have it ready by 8:15 for our initial room steward.  She told us we were NOT allowed to leave vials outside the room.Later on  I did see many rooms with it left outside the door before bed.  Not sure what the official rules is...much less intrusive if the night is OK.  It did make me feel safer...but I also wore a mask for 60 days if not eating or drinking and came home healthy!!!  We had a great cruise inspite of the covid changes.

[DJMC travelers]

Thank you so much for all of your comments. I did reread all of our documentation and saw where it mentioned the daily saliva test. So I will admit my error. I appreciate some people’s comments about how the daily testing made them feel safe. But to me, if the daily testing is for safety reasons, I am boggled how they don’t require but only recommend  boosters! Daily testing and no requirement of boosters do not correlate.

 

[longterm]

On 5/13/2022 at 10:35 AM, DJMC travelers said:

I am scheduled to leave on The Viking Homelands cruise on June 13th. I happened to notice yesterday on My Viking Journey page that another button had been added regarding Pre-Departure testing requirements. It stated that  pre-departure COVID PCR or Antigen testing was required before my husband and I board our flight from US. I need to state we never received an email regarding this change. Upon arrival in Stockholm and being transferred directly to the ship, We would be given a saliva test in our stateroom. Then I asked if there would be anymore testing during the cruise and was informed that every passenger would be tested EVERY DAY!!!! I couldn’t believe it! When I then asked when Viking made this change (again I had not been notified about this through email) I was told that had been Viking’s COVID protocol all along!! Am I the only person that was not aware of this? The only COVID testing and I had been made aware of previouslywas the saliva test upon boarding the ship.

Unfortunately my husband and I are planning to cancel our trip. We have been vaccinated and double Boosted, but don’t feel we can take the risk of testing positive sometime throughout the cruise being that Viking does not even require people to be boosted…..which doesn’t seem consistent with this Excessive testing policy. And what truly shocks me is that I wouldn’t have even discovered about the daily testing requirement had I not called. 
Please respond and tell me if I had missed some form of communication from Viking regarding these COVID policy testing changes. 

 

Viking's policy regarding Covid testing has been widely disseminated on their site ever since they resumed sailing.

As to false positives: there have been statistically very few false positives, especially with PCR tests. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, in over 100,000 tests given, the rate of false positives with PCR tests was less than .0025%. They tracked these false positives to a single batch of Abbott's test kits.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2788067

 

We did a 24-day trip that started in Rome and ended in Athens; in all, we were tested once in Texas, 15 times on the ship, 2 times before getting on board, then once before leaving Athens. 18 tests. I know that this is anecdotal, but we came up negative 18 times. We also did a cruise in December to the Caribbean and were tested about 15 times for that trip--all negative as well. 

 

Because almost all of these were PCR tests, they were much more reliable than rapid tests; Viking's on-board testing is all PCR.