TKS

It might be a mis-print, or maybe some dedicated quarantine cabins?

Thanks for the quick response, LHT28 (FYI, we just returned from a Great Lakes cruise on Viking that stopped in several Ontario towns and villages. We ended visiting Toronto for several days. You live in an absolutely magnificent area!)

I haven’t cruised on O since late 2019. Has the policy regarding bringing hard liquor on board changed since then? I’ve looked in our documents for our December cruise, but can’t find anything about hard liquor. DH like a bottle of Titos and I like Sapphire for a cocktail in our room while we get ready for dinner.

We just finished our first Viking cruise two weeks ago, and we have our sixth O cruise coming in December. Our last O cruise was November, 2019, just before Covid. There are differences between the two lines, as noted by many on this thread. Some things that haven’t yet been mentioned: 1. Viking requires full payment 6-12 months prior to departure (depending on various factors), while my upcoming O cruise required final payment 5 months before departure. Viking offers a 3.3% discount if you pay cash, which saved us over $600 on our last cruise. 2. Viking’s pre/post-cruise deviation fee is $100/pp, while O’s is $175/pp. I was seriously impressed with Viking’s handling of the pre-cruise details once we left home, but ironing out those details did require several hours on the telephone. Their flight booking center is overseas where there was no flexibility on layovers, etc., but I was given a tip to ask for a US agent, and she did a great job securing what we wanted - she even called back after we had accepted the itinerary to recommend a better one that included a free overnight in a lovely hotel the night before boarding the ship. And there was no up-charge beyond the deviation fee. I’m in throes of working out the details for our upcoming O cruise, and so far I’m frustrated. They are asking a $250/pp “layover” fee in addition to the deviation fee because we want to break up our departure (we live in the western US and want to stay one night on the East Coast, then fly to Europe, to avoid the 18-24 hour nightmare flying day if we don’t do that). They also want an additional $100/pp to fly home on Christmas Day vs two days earlier (the airline is actually charging $30 less for the flight on Christmas Day). Ultimately the difference between them booking our flights and doing it ourselves is over $800 in their favor. The only reason we are even considering it is the risk of the cruise being cancelled (Riviera, on it’s first post-refurbishment cruise, so there is a cancellation risk based on the supply line problems many cruise lines are having). Not sure what the final outcome will be, but I’m not impressed with O’s handling of the issue so far. 3. We found O’s passengers to be generally older and less active on our 2019 cruise than those on our recent Viking, but that could just be because of the itinerary differences (Montreal to Miami in 2019 on O vs Great Lakes on Viking). In both instances the average age was greater than most other “competing” cruise lines (I.e., Celebrity and Princess). 4. Viking has embraced technology which our last O trip lacked (phone app to keep track of our daily schedule, order room service, keep track of our bill, multiple USB and touch charging stations in the cabin, etc.) I’m curious to see if these upgrades will take place during Riviera’s refurbishment. 5. Viking also allows unlimited alcohol to be brought on board, but there is no corkage fee if you want to consume it in the public areas. Overall, we love O and are looking forward to our upcoming cruise, but Viking does offer a comparable (as in “different but equal”) experience, and they will definitely be under consideration for spending our future cruise dollars.

I submitted my State of NM Immunization Record for Covid 19 with the SMART Health Card QR code (obtained from the state dept. of health) to VeriFLY and the positive response was immediate (as in less than a minute), and that is the “official” record. So I suspect it is adequate. But I also bought a passport sleeve for my passport with a slot for the original vax card. As safe as I can be, I guess.

Traveling on the Viking Octantis in July. Pre-cruise testing is still required - either PCR or antigen tests, but either must be lab-certified. Daily required testing has been eliminated, but testing can be re-instituted depending on the trajectory of the virus. We are scheduled for Riviera in December (our first O cruise since before the pandemic). I’m, personally, more comfortable knowing all passengers are vax’ed and have tested prior to boarding, so I’m fine with continued pre-cruise testing on O. I just wish I was as comfortable with air travel.

1985rz1, thanks for your response. This helps us move forward.

We just booked our first O cruise since pre-pandemic. It includes all three O perks, including the “free” tours. We have only had the choice of one perk on our previous O cruises and have always chosen OBC. I can’t remember what the $ limit for the “free” tours, and do we simply pay the difference if we choose tours over that amount? Thanks in advance for your responses. We are excited to RE-board Riviera again!

People are talking about TA perks in terms of $$, which is nice. But the real reason we always use a TA is in case something goes wrong. Always remember the Representative for any cruise line will take care of their employer first in the case of a dispute, while a TA is paid to represent your interests’ at no additional cost to you. Also, as a cruise expert, a good TA can give advice and insights you can’t have otherwise (think “tips and tricks”), and help you avoid pitfalls.

Thanks for your insights everyone. Our first Viking sailing will be from Milwaukee to Thunder Bay the end of July. I hope things have ironed out by then. I’m not enamored of Viking’s policy of full payment over a year in advance, so if the cruise doesn’t measure up, it may be our only Viking cruise too.