TayanaLorna

Thanks for the recommendation. Are the KN masks NOT made in China? Been avoiding them but don't care for the around the head strap of the N95. So glad you finally did that TA.

We always carried the little sanitizer bottle found in our stateroom and used it after every time we returned from the buffet. I carried it on my person most of the time because i liked to use the stairs but must hold on to the rail. I would use the stairs, open the doors, find my seat wherever then sit and use the sanitizer. Does Viking still provide bottles in the room? This is our first cruise since Viking dropped the Covid protocols so we are a bit uneasy and planning ahead of time how to protect ourselves.

Thank you so much. Good to know. Sounds like the N95's are the best choice. We are used to wearing them for long periods already. We chose our next cruise because it boards in San Juan and we live in PR. Can avoid airports and planes until we return home. We are fully vaxed and boosted. Hoping to get an omicron targeted booster when available. Sounds like next step of protection is social distancing and especially away from those exhibiting any symptoms. Hand sanitizing is a given.

Red bagged room service trays? If guests are quarantined, then apparently they are requesting a Covid test themselves or being asked by Viking.

I appreciate all the comments here and especially those who do mask to protect themselves and others, as well as those who admit they are sick, test and quarantine. A question to those who masked and did not get Covid: what kind of mask did you wear? I am remembering many people claim that they do mask, did everything right but still got Covid on a ship. Case in point is our GP doctor who went on a cruise to Alaska. He claims he did everything right. However we have never seen him or any of his staff wear a N95 or KN95 mask. The black paper mask we see there are always slipping down their noses and are certainly not tight fitting around the face. Just thinking about how many N95 masks we need to order for our next cruise. Went on 2 cruises last year - one in the height of the Delta strain and one at the very beginning of the Omicron strain. We all wore the black masks provided by and as required by Viking and neither ship had a single case of Covid. I know this is off topic but there seem to be some safely masked cruisers on this board.

We went to 2 out of the 3 Jupiter shows in 2020 and enjoyed them so sign up. They filled up fast but it was still a novelty back then with few negative comments. Shows were in the afternoon and the evening sometimes. However we do prefer the additional seating space on the upper Explorer lounge instead of the Planetarium and are glad that the new ships do not have it. When trying to use the seating up there we found that it was too often filled with people waiting to get into the show. Word got out that the best seats were in the back so people were lining up early.

Oh no Clay. So sorry. Not surprised, however, with Covid as well as the instability of that part of the world.

Yes the document said 3 things regarding Covid testing - the guest can request a test if feeling unwell, the guest can request a test upon disembarkation if one was needed for further travel and Viking could request a passenger take a test.

Linda, I also thought Viking had the right to ask someone to take a test for Covid and they do indeed. It is in Passenger Ticket Contract under 11. Public Health Section d. COVID 19 Policies and Procedures. Viking "may" ask a passenger to test for Covid. Viking "may" also require masking, contact tracing, completion of health declarations, temperature checks and more. Section e. Outlines the consequences of noncompliance. This info is from a document sent to us for our next cruise so if is not out of date. I also thought i saw it elsewhere but have not found that source.

Besides the shows in the Star Theater which could be anything from a magician/mentalist to a Viking Band singer/dancer production to a comedian to a special guest singer, the Viking Band could be performing in the pool area or late night in Torshaven. There is also a resident guitarist, pianist and string duo of perform in the different bar areas on board. Pianist and string are usually classical or popular show type music. The guitarist has been classic rock and folk rock. One of our cruises the Viking Band was excellent at jazz. All the guitarists have known every song we asked him to play. If your cruise is a dedicated 30 days with no segment passengers, you will probably have a wide variety of special performances.

I see Bitter Lemon listed on the Drinks Menu that i downloaded but not the brand.

I too am so sorry you got sick from a Viking cruise. I appreciate the candid discussion re current Viking cruises. We have a cruise in less then 6 months and have been wondering. Where we live in PR is TOTALLY different then the rest of the US. Went to Costco today and 95% of customers and employees were masking. It's the same all over the island other then in San Juan where the visitors go. Our Iberian TA last Fall had us in Spain and Portugal for several days. Granted there were still Viking mask mandates so most on excursions wore masks. However I recall talking with our private Barcelona guides as well as guides on Viking excursions that we took about the difference in culture regarding masking. They were appalled regarding the American masking resistance. Like Puerto Rico, they believed masking protected their abeulos (grandparents) and any vulnerable members of society and were more then willing to suffer the discomfort. Our next cruise is Caribbean and Amazon Adventure. The 3 Caribbean islands we visit are very low on vaccination rates and Brazil is Latino. They are among the vulnerable. We plan to wear N95 masks everywhere unless we are eating and drinking. AND we plan to eat and drink away from others. Following our 13 days with Viking, we join a much smaller cruise boat to go further up the Amazon for 4 days. We must test negative to board this boat. It will be well past the cancellation date to get a refund if we don't. I am concerned about reports of people coughing, sneezing and following the actions of 5 year olds. I read on Vikings safety info that we or Viking crew can request a Covid test. However I understand that if a person is coughing, sneezing etc, that Viking cannot force a person to take a Covid test. And I cannot imagine a passenger requesting one knowing they face quarantine if positive. My DH would cancel this cruise in a heartbeat if he was reading all this. Going to order a big box of N95 masks for the cruise. It may be the last.

Thank you again. Learning a few words in Portuguese but good to know we can converse with some passengers in English.

Thank you for your reply Lirio. I understand most Iberostar passengers will be Brazilian. Do many Brazilians speak English as well as Portuguese?

We traveled last July and November with Viking and received numerous reminders via email. Granted we had lots of pre cruise things to do that you may not have. We got reminders to check the pre-cruise requirements, a time line list of what to do with the deadline, a how to do Verifly with subsequent reminders, notification that it was time do the pre cruise health questionnaire and reminders to get our Covid tests.

We enjoy the cabins near the forward lifts and noise was never an issue and there was rarely anyone standing waiting for the lift. However if your cabin is right where the elevator doors open and you open your cabin door, those people can see right into your room. The aft lifts tend to be busier as they are closer to the restaurants and boarding the ship.

Good breakdown of article with commentary. I agree exactly. Terms & Conditions also address lots of other things that Viking can do - fuel surcharge, change ports, cancel ports, boot people off the boat if they bring illegal substances, fire arms, smoke in their cabin, determine quarantine for Covid and other contagious diseases - and all are with no compensation unless specifically addressed in the Passenger Ticket Contract. How many times we read how people expect compensation for a missed port, delayed arrival etc. Any compensation is a gift not a right.

Email tellus@vikingcruises.com I have sent very detailed emails regarding different issues but from home - not while on a cruise.

Here is an onboard beverage menu. The bars are pretty much the same other then Torshaven which has very high end Armanacs and Scotch. onboardbeveragemenu_oceans.pdf

I thought when Viking cancels a cruise a person has "x" amount of time to either take a cash refund or a voucher for the cruise fare plus whatever bump up % is offered. Once the voucher is taken, the option to take cash at a future date is off the table. Perhaps there have been different offers that i do not know about. If my understanding is correct, getting a cash refund years later was a good deal and both people could have taken it. However taking a refund for one person's fare and expecting to go on the cruise for half of the double stateroom occupancy is pretty cheeky. It is common knowledge that cruise lines charge a single supplement. Although some lines are advertising single occupancy cabins, most cruise line cabins are double occupancy. Apparently this journalist thinks the cash refund vs voucher policy and what happens if one person takes a refund and the other takes a voucher, should be specifically outlined in the Terms & Conditions or Passenger Ticket Contract.

Yes but keep checking the document. The one for our next cruise has been updated twice. Each time has a date on it.

You know my V agent advised not paying the extra for + based upon the fact that we can change things on MVJ. However I find only 2 acceptable itineraries for our 2/23 cruise. I do have some concern that Viking contracted seats will sell out so... Thanks for your input.

Interesting. Thank you.

A Deviation is when you fly to arrive earlier then the embarkation date or later then the date you disembark. FYI if you have a Deviation you do not get a free Viking transfer with your Viking Air nor can you pay for one.

My Viking agent told me about this feature. However i do not yet have flights so i cannot speak to its functionality. Following.