BigBee51

Not to throw a monkey wrench into the conversation but there is an old discussion from 2019 on the cruise critic site for the UK that had a similar discussion and one member stated

"I don’t know about the others, but we were in 5105 on the Viking Sea and we had a door, not a slider "

That conversation used the same PDF as in this conversation.  It would be interesting to know who compiled the PDF and by what method they determined which cabin has what configuration.

Thanks for the info. I can see three per side in photos of the ship. 

41 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

The perils of amateur journalism.

 

What you have here is a system made by VIKING Life-Saving Equipment.  Not one for general use by Viking Cruises.  Completely different company.

 

You can see these life raft canisters on most all ships.

 

https://www.viking-life.com/en/what-we-offer/marine-safety/liferafts-1

I am relieved a bit by your answer but looking at a Viking ship, there are only 4 large "lifeboats", 2 per side of the vessel with a smaller things between the two "lifeboats". How many people can fit on them?

2 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Out of curiosity, do employers in California incorporate the extra for wages into their prices on the menu, or do customers tip as usual? 

In answer to the first question, based on the prices for eating out (from memory mostly due to covid) yes and yes to the tipping too. We usually tip 20% (easy arithmetic - I left my fancy math brain at work when I retired) in cash to the wait staff. 

now about those "jeans"

Not wanting to beat this poor dead horse, but the US Fed govt min tipped cash wage is $2.13 but lots of states required the employer to pay the state's minimum wage before tips. In California the state minimum wage is $13 to $14 depending on the number of employees. 

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped

precisely

From the FAQ on Viking web site

Thanks for the clarification. I personally believe neither Princess nor Holland will set up at the terminal testing either. Viking took the initiative to set up test facilities on all their vessels. Too bad Carnival didn't see this issue coming....

As of an article on Cruise Radio dated 5 days ago, Princess has given up on trying to do testing at the terminal. 

https://cruiseradio.net/carnival-cruise-line-nixes-on-site-covid-testing-option/

The screen shots are from two different cruises leaving Ft Lauderdale the same day.

This is a helpful link to provide specific balcony information for both the Coral and Island Princess'

http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/Princess/odell/res76zxu/princessbalconies/id2.html

B725 is not covered

I wish the CDC were as concerned about airlines and terminals as they are about cruise ships (heck of a lot more air travel than cruises). We are both fully vaccinated and have cruises planned for next year. We will wear good quality masks and avoid unacceptable situations as much as possible but still enjoy our cruises.

On 8/4/2021 at 1:57 PM, wowzz said:

Why all the moans and groans ? All us Brits are quite happy  to undergo a test at the terminal. 

Adds to the safety  of the cruise - surely it is a good idea to not let anyone on board that tests positive for CV19 ?

The moans and groans are because in the US, Princess is not doing the testing at the terminal for cruises departing after the 14th of August. We are on our own to obtain the appropriate test and results. It is common for us to leave for the cruise 2 days in advance - one day for the scheduled flight across country and one day for "insurance" in the event something goes awry. 

The first time I tried to book an excursion for a Feb 2022 cruise, the system did not take the $100 off and I didn't trust that if I completed the booking a 'miracle' would happen and the $100 would come off. Instead I waited a couple of days and tried again and that time the $100 was removed prior to having to pay with a credit card. If you've already booked the excursion try cancelling it and starting over.

On our last HA cruise to Iceland (July 2019), we were in a Signature Suite (SS) and laundry was included. Sadly, this class of cabin no longer has included laundry. Waah

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

With only 30% of the US vaccinated, I find it difficult to understand how/why we are voluntarily bringing foreigners here to be vaccinated for a non-essential industry.

There is a large segment the of the US population that will not take the vaccine for whatever reason.

Wow, just wow.... Our first cruise post COVID (hopefully post COVID) isn't until late June of 22. I hope we can make that one.

On 3/18/2021 at 6:04 AM, USCcruisecrazy said:

Yes, I understand that the reason you take the vaccine is because if you catch the virus your chances of surviving are greatly increased...in fact may be asymptomatic for most people.  But, you stated you have a 98% chance to survive if you've had the vaccine.  In reality, you have a 98.2% chance to survive without the vaccine based on the death rate.  Your chance of survival with the vaccine is much greater than that.  I would venture to say you have perhaps .5% or less chance to die with the vaccine. 

 

I think we agree that the vaccine is a benefit because it helps prevent death.  I was just questioning the actual numbers being better than you stated. 

The overall death rate maybe less than 2% but who dies is very much based on age (among other factors). 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1191568/reported-deaths-from-covid-by-age-us/

We have to the October 19th to choose the refund. At the moment, MyViking for this cruise is locked down for updates.  I will be contacting my overwhelmed but incredibly nice and helpful TA tomorrow. 

We too just received this email for the Nov 2023 Galapagos Machu Pichu cruise. Do they refund the travel insurance purchase if we opt for a deposit refund or are we out of $2000+ ? 

On 8/22/2020 at 7:51 AM, BigBee51 said:

Out of curiosity, I took a look at our Aug 2021 Viking river cruise. When we booked earlier this year, the final payment date was scheduled for Feb 28, 2021. Looking today through my TA's website, the final payment has changed to Aug 28, 2020. I have a call in to my TA. No way are we paying a year in advance when we can't even be assured we will be able to leave the country. I'm not inclined to lend them $20 K for a cruise that may never happen or we may not be able to take. We were planning on a final decision in February based on world conditions then.

My TA contacted Viking and our final payment date has not changed from Feb 2021. Now all we need is for France to let us into the country 😷

Out of curiosity, I took a look at our Aug 2021 Viking river cruise. When we booked earlier this year, the final payment date was scheduled for Feb 28, 2021. Looking today through my TA's website, the final payment has changed to Aug 28, 2020. I have a call in to my TA. No way are we paying a year in advance when we can't even be assured we will be able to leave the country. I'm not inclined to lend them $20 K for a cruise that may never happen or we may not be able to take. We were planning on a final decision in February based on world conditions then.

Yes, cruise date May 9

For clarity, we canceled on March 18th, option 2. Today is the 90 day mark from the date of cancellation.