NeilP57

In addition to the OBC and FCC, there is also the valuable option of switching to a completely different itinerary under the risk free guarantee option. 
 

It has suited us to switch to a 7 day river cruise in the South of France (Avignon to Lyon on the River Rhone)

I also acknowledge that as a UK customer, despite the booking this cruise over 2 years ago, we have only paid a 25% deposit which makes switching to a cheaper cruise easier. 

They certainly do work. This is much appreciated and whilst I am sure many would like to see all the details of each excursion, there is plenty of content to get our excursion juices flowing.

Once again, many thanks.

It will great to get some feedback from the early VH cruisers this season about the independent trips to see pulpit rock. How crowded they were, were they fully booked or could you just walk up and pay on the day. 

I ask that question because if it is a clear day I am sure that this a worthwhile excursion. However, Norway can have low cloud, which would mean that whilst the boat trip to pulpit rock would still be interesting the views are somewhat limited up the side of the fjords to the cloud line and no chance to see pulpit rock itself. However, the waterfalls and a few goats are interesting. 
 

This was our experience when taking our first ever cruise to the Norwegian Fjords from the UK back in 2012. So this time, I maybe be tempted to wait and see how the weather is looking and see if we can pick up last minute availability. 

There is 16 scheduled sailing during 2022 on this classic Viking itinerary, which takes in 8 different countries, excluding any transit stops on the way. 
 

i thought I would try and create a thread that could capture all the advice from the many who have sailed this itinerary in the  past in “normal” times but also would work well for those of us who are travelling on it 2022 to share their thoughts and experiences, before, during and after their trip. 
 

The 16 individual roll calls would still be the place to share date specific comments etc but hopefully if we could capture all the good advice that is available in one place that saves the need to trawl through 16 roll calls to find an answer. 
 

This worked really well last year on our 2021 Iceland trip with Viking, so hopefully this will work just as well. 
 

Happy posting! 

15 hours ago, Jay23 said:

Hello all.    Sadly we have had to cancel the Iceland Jupiter cruise we were booked on for 7th September,   due to heath issues.   (not Covid)   Very disappointing.   Judith

So sorry for you. Sending our love, your neighbour,   Neil 

9 hours ago, Camden lady said:

Has anyone else been told that Viking does not have their Verifly verification?  Filled mine and my sister on Aug 11.  Got the "ready to travel" for both of us.   Today got an email from Viking that we needed to do Verifly.  Called Verifly and was told they had a technical problem and they were not being sent to Viking.   Nothing I can do about it.  Said we will have to do the long embarkation process. Frustrating as I spent time jumping through their hoops for nothing.

In our experience on the 31/7 departure they still did the “long embarkation process” anyway. We did the VeriFLY and did not have any emails from Viking but when we got to the Harpa Concert Hall they still asked to see our UK Vaccination Certificate and asked us the normal health questions that we had also answered online. They also took our picture again despite doing the on line Viking check in. 
 

It’s really nothing to worry about doing it when you arrive, it only takes a few minutes. I think we have all tried our best to do what Viking has asked us to do and when we get asked to do it all again on arrival we all comply because that is how we generally behave. 

I flew on the same flight on July 31st. I used Heathrow official meet and greet parking and arrived about 4:45 and had a smooth arrival and was in the arrival hall after about 10 minutes. 
 

When I checked in for the flight that Biking had booked I was offered an upgrade by BA to Club Europe for £79 each. I decided to take this and therefore had access to the dedicated business class check in, fast track security and Lounge Access. I was in the lounge by about 5:30 at the latest. 
 

The other benefit of the upgrade was that nobody was sitting next to you on the 3-3 seat layout. I felt this was worthwhile in managing our Covid risk on the flight. The breakfast on the plane was quite good and complemented the bubbles and bacon roll I had in the BA lounge at 6:00am quite nicely. 
 

Flight departed a few minutes late but arrived a few minutes early. 
 

Paperwork was checked thoroughly by BA check in desk. Wanted to see vaccine certificate and negative Covid test. 
 

A few extra observations.

If using meet and greet parking as we did, queue to hand over keys had grown much longer by 4:55 as the official start time was said to be 5:00am but one person was working before then. 
 

I also upgraded on the return flight and perhaps with hindsight this was not worth it. There is no fast track security or lounge access at KEF airport. The only benefit is the seat configuration and free food and drink on board the plane. 

Hope this helps. 

1 hour ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Can’t wait for the next jeans thread in 2 weeks or so…😁😎🚶‍♂️

Maybe for a change we could have a discussion instead on whether baseball caps in dining rooms should be permitted in the evening.
 

1 hour ago, JM0115 said:

After 3 Viking Cruises I still have not had the waffles!!!  

I think that is outrageous !

I believe Viking should make sure all passengers have tried at least one waffle whilst on board. 
 

Perhaps they could amend VeriFLY to allow us to upload a picture to prove that we have tried a waffle. 

6 hours ago, Kellybc said:

We were on the July 24 Sky sailing. On the last night my husband decided to wear his nice black jeans to the restaurant since we were staying a couple of days in Reykjavik, could wear them the next day and would make packing easier. After a reminder of the rules from me, he changed. The gentleman in front of us at the restaurant had on a pair of baggy blue jeans, well worn, and was seated with no problem. Dear husband did not say a word. 

I am not sure about Viking but many cruise lines relax the dress code on the last evening (either officially or unofficially) to assist packing for travel the next day. 
 

As the bags are requested to be outside by 10:00pm, it is sometimes easier to dine in your next day travel clothes, especially if eating a little later. 

2 hours ago, MarkTapley said:

The puffins which nest on Vigur Island are all gone now.  We were there yesterday.  We did see two humpback whales swimming very close to the boat on our way back to Sky, just south of the island.  The skipper stopped and let us watch for about 10 minutes.  Fortunately, we were sitting on the small outside deck, so we got great pics.

And then there were none……

The whale watching sounded fun though. 

4 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

That means that there are still likely to be puffins on Vigur Island as well, though I suspect not for too much longer. And for Vigur, you just walk a minute or two across the harbor and get on a boat for a 30 minute ride to the island.  

 

https://twitter.com/islandvigur/status/1424279291324473346?s=21

Not sure if this link works to the Vigur Island Twitter Feed will work but last week (8/8) they reported far fewer puffins. 

8 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Served buffets are definitely the best way to reduce norovirus - that and Viking personnel insisting you disinfect/wash your hands at every dining entrance.  We normally like table service for dinner, but on our cruise we ate dinner in the World Cafe more because it was less crowded and not self serve.  Some of the Restaurant 2 person tables were only a foot apart and during busy times, guests were seated at all of them.  In the WC all the 4 person tables along the windows were set for 2 people which allowed for a much better social distancing meal.

We used the WC for dinner for the first time on this our third VO cruise. We enjoyed the extra space and the more relaxed atmosphere and flexibility on what we had to eat and when. The service was still excellent. We will do it again on our Homelands cruise next year. 

1 hour ago, susanlik said:

You are on bus to get to boat or atv

 Not totally true. Many of the boat trips and also ATV trips are walks from the the ship/tender.
 

6 hours ago, Chilicatx said:

I’d also like to emphasize that this “lower fare” only impacts solo travelers.

 

Perhaps they don’t value them?

Can’t you cancel and get a future cruise credit for what you have paid and then rebook at the lower rate. 
 

I thought the cut off for cancelling was 14 days not 21? 
 

1 minute ago, Margigarcia said:

True ALL that 😊😊

What I really want is an idea how many Jupiter and Sky passengers have had to quarantine-those numbers will also never be made known.  

I left Viking Star on Saturday 7th August and my understanding is that there were no cases on Viking Star last week.

26 minutes ago, Margigarcia said:

I have asked in every way I know how-with frankly not much success-the number of incidents of quarantining in cabins??? That is our biggest question regarding traveling in September.  If there is a 10% chance (from prior cruise experiences) of being there for days-or higher??  I know it varies and it is a crapshoot-but being from Louisville, Home of The Kentucky Derby, I’d like some sort of odds.  Does this make sense?  

Well if you can provide us with what the rules will be in Iceland in early September. Will vaccinated close contacts of Covid positive case be required to quarantine. Whats the definition (both Viking and/or the Icelandic authorities) of close contact.

If you can provide us with what the underlying Covid rate will be within the general population in Iceland in early September.

Then we need to consider what flights you and your fellow airline passengers will be taking. What is the Covid rate in the various territories they flew from.

What proportion of the domestic flights passengers were vaccinated and did they practice social distancing and other precautions in the few days before departure.

Thats a few variables to ponder over. 

I think it may be easier to predict the winner of The Kentucky Derby than calculate the % chance of a quarantine problem.

I know this is a slightly facetious response but I am not sure you will ever get the answers you ask.

Not forgetting the airport on departure. Plenty of time and opportunity there for souvenir and jumper shopping given Viking likes to get you there about 3 hrs before your flight at the latest. 

It’s not a great picture but this is the sign displayed at the reception of Manfredi’s 

4 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

The Viking guidelines for "Rig of the Day", with respect to the dining venues are very clear.

 

Sadly, not everyone complies. Similar to Jim, I have seen the host/hostess refuse entry, requesting the pax change into more appropriate trousers.

On our recent trip on Viking Sky we also saw people turned away for wearing jeans and the dress policy is clearly stated on the desk as you enter any of three formal restaurants. 
 

I personally would be happy with dress jeans but I respect Viking’s clearly stated policy and happy to respect it. 

1 hour ago, readsalot said:

Hello All,

We would be interested in hearing about any special drinks or cocktails offered with Silver Spirits that you enjoyed. We usually drink wine, but may try something new.

Thanks!

Lynne

There is a really good choice of wines available by the glass for when you want wine but I particularly enjoy the Planters Punch cocktail but I always asked them to add another shot of dark rum as this made all the difference!  
 

The drinks menu contains some cocktails and standard mixes but if you can name it they will normally make it for you. 

2 hours ago, Jay23 said:

It is 3.30pm in the Cotswolds on Saturday afternoon, Neil, and I assume you are home now.  I hope hour journey was smooth and event free and all the paperwork was satisfactory.   We are a bit shocked that we will be leaving the ship so early in the morning!   Thanks for all your posts.  Judith.

Hi Judith, indeed we are home in the Cotswolds.  Heathrow was a breeze, we were pulling out of the car park in less than an hour after landing. The e-gates were all working and that was the only check we went through at Heathrow. 
 

At the airport check in at KEF they checked our negative test result from the ship as well as the UK passenger locator form that was on our phones. 
 

At KEF do not join the long line which all our American friends join but there is a small sign for the British Airways desk which opened shortly after we got there. It is near where the line (sorry I meant to say queue)  for the American flight ends with the Delta desks. 

There is also another long line at the Icelandic border that you need to pass through between security and the international departure gates, so don’t leave it to late to move to the gate. There are still some places to get coffee etc after this border gate. 
 

Hope this helps. Safe travels.  

Live from Sky before signing off for this trip and handing over to those fortunate to follow. 
 

We did the rib trip today which was fun. It was not as adventurous as other rib trips we had done and the actual boat trip element was only one hour. We saw plenty of puffins and other sea birds and a wonderful close up of the steep sided cliffs and caves of the local islands. 
 

I am not sure we really saw the lava flows mentioned in the tour description but we could see them from where Viking Sky was at anchor in the bay. 
 

All the forms are filled in and we have a 6:00am departure for a 10:10am flight to London. So hopefully back home for mid afternoon. 
 

Looking forward to rejoining Viking again next year for our Homelands cruise deferred from this year but we may sneak in one week river cruise (possibly Douro in Portugal) later this year, all depending on UK travel restrictions. 
 

Thus trip has been great fun and well worth the effort and expense of pre and post testing required by UK and Icelandic government but we will only travel abroad again when it is easier to do than it has been this time. 
 

Signing off from Live on Viking Sky. Looking forward to reading of future travellers blogs. 
 

One last request, those posts that relate to the Live thread please post away. 
 

Those post that relate to the General thread that’s a great home for general comments on the Iceland trip. 
 

not TTFN but OAA (over and out!)0

14 minutes ago, Margigarcia said:

Hey travelers,

did you have any knowledge of quarantined shipmates?

that is our biggest fear-missing out on the fun, stuck in our cabin.

thoughts??

thanks

sept 7 sail date

We understand from comments made by ships officers to people we have spoken to (so second hand) is that the 31/7 departure has been Covid free.